


Mothers and Daughters

by 2nerd4this



Series: beginnings and all that comes with them [4]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Also Cathy is a mom, Angst, Anne is a mother, But Aragon is epic mom in this one, But also Aragon's kid, Forgiveness, Gen, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Jane is a mum also, Mom Aragon, Mother's Day and the memories that come with it, Soft Anne, soft Cathy, soft aragon, soft everyone I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23921566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2nerd4this/pseuds/2nerd4this
Summary: Mother's Day brings some unexpected revelations to light in the Queen's home and relationships are tested on all fronts
Relationships: Anne Boleyn & Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn & Katherine Howard, Catherine Of Aragon & Anne Boleyn, Catherine Parr & Anne Boleyn, Catherine Parr & Anne of Cleves, Catherine Parr & Jane Seymour, Catherine Parr & Katherine Howard, Catherine of Aragon & Catherine Parr, Catherine of Aragon & Jane Seymour, Catherine of Aragon & Katherine Howard
Series: beginnings and all that comes with them [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724341
Comments: 62
Kudos: 185





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I was going to post One-Shots that play off my longer Six fic and they were all going to be short and sweet, but as I was working on them, some of them are quite longer, so now they have chapters. 
> 
> Also, they were going to be in chronological order and the first one would take place a couple days after "Free To Take Our Crowning Glory" ends, but I love this one so much so I'm just going to post it now and see what happens.
> 
> This takes place about a month after "Free to Take..." ends. If you have not read that yet, it is not necessary, but it might be helpful, I dunno.

The day started out like any other. Jane woke long before any of the other Queens and made her way downstairs and straight to the kitchen. All of the women had finally figured out how to cook with modern technology, but Jane was the only one who actually enjoyed waking up early to make breakfast. Sometimes she would go all out and make pancakes or eggs, but usually she would just throw on a pot of coffee for herself and the others and then make herself a meal. Today she was feeling abnormally tired, so she just threw some bread in the toaster and stuck premade sausages in the microwave. She then settled down in an armchair and scrolled through Pinterest on her phone, munching her toast distractedly. 

Not too long later, Catalina emerged from the stairwell and grabbed one of the pieces of toast still sticking out from the toaster and poured herself a cup of coffee. Jane hummed a soft greeting, which the older Queen returned before opening the screen door on to the porch and sitting down on the swing. Like every morning, she pulled her devotional out from the side table and read quietly. Usually these two would be alone in the living room until long past eight in the morning, but today, someone quite unexpected stumbled down the stairs near seven: Anne. The Queen was obviously incredibly tired, as if she had either just now woken up, or had not slept all night. Neither of these options were usual behavior for the girl, so Jane watched her with great concern as she slowly poured herself a bowl of cereal. 

Anne sat down on the stool so forcefully that it scraped against the floor, startling both women. The older of the two, however, did not seem that phased and went quickly back to her cereal. It was then that Jane noticed her expression. She was not angry or sad, those emotions were easy to detect on this particular Queen. Anne seemed almost... hopeless, tired of the world. This just heightened the woman’s concern, and glanced towards Catalina. Jane prided herself on her caring nature, but in situations like this, it was nice to have some backup. The older woman had noticed the new presence downstairs and was looking back at Jane questioningly. The latter shrugged helplessly. Catty sighed and shut her Bible softly, standing up. Jane did the same and approached the counter where Anne sat. 

“Good morning Anne. You’re up early.” Jane was trying to sound casual, but she could hear her concern creep its way into her voice. The woman in question just hummed in reply and continued to focus on her cereal.

“Anne? Did you sleep well?” Catalina could not hide her concern any more than her friend, but Anne just shrugged in reply. “Anne? Did you even sleep at all?” The elder Queen questioned again. The soft sigh that followed answered the question quickly.

“Talk to us, Anne. We’re worried about you.” Jane sat on the stool next to Anne and watched her carefully. Anne took a couple deep breaths, swirling her spoon in the cereal distractedly. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. After a moment she pushed the bowl away and turned to Jane.

“Do you know what today is?” her voice was soft, the question obviously rhetorical. “It's Mother’s Day.” 

Silence. Anne looked down at her hands and took a shaky breath. Jane and Catalina stood frozen, staring at her. The older Queen blinked in surprise after a moment, a soft “Oh” escaping her lips. 

“So, yeah, I didn’t sleep much last night. Maybe not at all. I’m not sure. I just couldn’t stop thinking about my kid. Our kids” she corrected, “What could have been and all of that. What Henry took from us. All those moments we missed.” Anne paused and took a deep breath, looking at the other women. The other mothers. They were both listening intently, but she could tell her words had got them thinking. A pang of guilt shot through her gut as she realized that she could have just stayed quiet and spared the women from thinking the same things she was. Still, it was too late now, so she continued. “And then I read some articles online about my Elizabeth and all the things she did. She was so strong and brave and brilliant and I missed it all!” Anne stood abruptly, startling the others. Biting her lip ashamedly, she quickly apologized for her outburst. “Sorry. I know you both experienced the same things. I don’t need to explain these emotions to you of all people.” 

Jane shook her head immediately and grasped the other girl’s hand in her own. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s all the more reason you should tell us. We understand.” Catalina nodded in agreement and stepped closer to the two. 

“You know, Henry took many things from us, but the one thing he can never take is our motherhood. We will always be mothers, so I say we use today to celebrate that.” All three smiled softly at that and nodded in agreement. 

“Group hug?” asked Anne. Jane giggled and nodded. Catalina sighed dramatically. 

“Catherine of Aragon, don’t you sigh at us. Get in here!” Jane pulled the two into her arms and they all laughed, their giggles tinged with grief and anger, yes, but laughter nonetheless. 

\---

Soon, all three women were piled on the couch pouring through portraits of Elizabeth on Jane’s phone.

“Oh, Anne, she looks like you in this one!” exclaimed Jane excitedly.

“Jane, that doesn’t even make any sense. I look nothing like I did back then.” 

“No, Anne. I hate to admit it, but I think she is right. Around the eyes, there.” Catherine pointed at the phone. “That's what you look like whenever I ask you to do chores.” Anne scoffed at that, rolling her eyes, but then took a closer look at the picture.

“Actually.... I kind of see it. That’s so weird.” They all three erupted in laughter at her comment. 

“It is way too early to be that awake you three.” Cathy groaned as she came down the stairs. Glaring goodnaturedly at the three on the couch, she groggily poured a cup of coffee and leaned on the counter. 

“Hey Cath. Maybe if you actually slept you would be this awake too, huh?” Anne joked. The girl in question rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, well, it was worth it. I finished a chapter of my book that was taking me forever.”

“Writing or reading?” Jane questioned. Cathy opened her mouth to answer, wrinkled her eyebrows, and shut it again. She looked perplexed for a moment before answering, almost as a question.

“Both? I was talking about writing, but, yeah, definitely both now that you mention it.” The girl looked genuinely confused and Catalina facepalmed, smirking. Sometimes her goddaughter was really quite adorable. “Anyway...” Cathy said, shaking her head and changing the subject. “What are you guys laughing ridiculously at at eight in the morning.” She emphasized the time, scoffing. Jane jumped off the couch to show her the photo. 

“This photo of Elizabeth that looks freakily like Anne. Well, I guess we weren’t laughing at that specifically. It's a long story, honestly. But, look. Around the eyes.” The young Queen shoved the phone toward Cathy, who took it, slightly hesitant, and studied the photo carefully.

“Oh yeah, I totally see it.” Her voice wavered a little, and she gave Jane back the phone a little too quickly, but she didn’t seem to notice, nodding and laughing as she grabbed it. Anne was just as oblivious, jumping up in excitement at her latest revelation.

“Oh my gosh! You were like, the ultimate mom, weren’t you? You were all of our kid’s step-mother. I mean, so were Anna and Kit, but you, like, took them in after Henry died. Sort of. And your Mary!” Anne bounded over to Cathy and bounced a little with the energy. Catalina noticed that Cathy seemed to tense a little at the girl, but wrote it off to her having just woke up. “You have to join us in Mother’s Day celebration! That’s what we were just doing. We talked earlier and decided that we shouldn’t let Henry take away that part of our lives, even if we can’t see our kids. What do you say?”

Catalina could not explain the younger girl’s reaction with exhaustion now. She tensed up immediately at the question and shifted awkwardly, looking at the ground. Biting her lip, she stuttered out a reply.

“Ac...Actually, I only came down for a cup of coffee. I really have to get back to work. Have fun with your party.” And with that, the last Queen rushed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Anne stood in shock, still staring at the place Cathy had just been.

“I’m... I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?” She looked at the other two Queens, but they just shrugged and shook their heads.

“I’m not sure. She’s never acted that way before.” Jane wrung her hands in worry and looked helplessly at Catalina. Just then, Kitty came bounding down the stairs, glancing over her shoulder.

“What's up with Cathy? I passed her on the way down and she seemed... I dunno, upset, maybe?”

“Not upset. More like.... frustrated.” Anna appeared behind the youngest Queen. “But Imma be honest, we all know I'm not the best at reading emotions. And Cath isn't the best at sharing hers. So...” she shrugged, trailing off. Catherine sighed.

“I'll go talk to her. Don't worry too much, Anne, I'm sure it wasn't something you did. She seemed tense from the moment Jane gave her the phone.” With that, the eldest Queen set off up the stairs. The remaining four looked at each other, concern lining each and every one of their faces.


	2. Chapter 2

Catalina walked determinedly up both flights of stairs, heading straight for her goddaughter’s room. It was a well known fact by now that Cathy preferred to deal with her emotions in solitude. This seemed to be a common pattern among the Queens, but Cathy especially. The eldest did her best to not psychoanalyze any of her housemates, specifically her goddaughter, but in times like this, she couldn't help but think. Cathy was the final Queen, which made it easy for her to keep secrets and slip into the background. Anna has outlived her, but she knew little of the other woman’s life, so the Queens only knew what Cathy herself admitted, and that was very little. All of these secrets were bound to pile up and spill over eventually, and Catalina had been prepared to be the one to help the young woman when that happened.

Catherine of Aragon knocked softly on the door, waiting patiently for a response she knew would not come. After a few moments of silence, she sighed and tried another tactic.

“Cathy, love, it's Catalina. Can we talk?” More silence. “Hon, we are worried about you. I'm not leaving without talking, so you might as well let me in.” The Queen heard shuffling and a couple soft sniffles before the door opened. Cathy quickly turned and walked over to her desk, sitting down and turning to her laptop, seemingly returning to work, but the woman’s hands weren't moving. Catalina sighed and sat gingerly on the end of the bed in the middle of the room. Her goddaughter stared at the laptop, diligently ignoring the older woman. Shaking her head, the eldest Queen spoke again.

“We both know you aren't doing anything on that laptop, so how 'bout you turn around and talk to me, huh? It's ok to let other people in sometimes, you don't have to be strong for me, dear.” Her tone was soft, but stern, a tone only she had perfected, though Jane was close behind. The tone worked especially well on Cathy, who tended to recognize when it was best to listen to her godmother without question. 

The girl in question only hesitated for a moment before slowly turning in her chair to face Catalina. Her eyes remained trained on the ground as she fidgeted anxiously.

“I'm fine, Catty, I promise. I just had a long night and the prospect of a party did not sound that enticing. I'm sorry I stormed off.” 

“Cath, you know that's not true. I believe you had a long night, but that's nothing new. Which, by the way, is also a conversation we need to have before Jane slips something into your coffee to knock you out. Something we said bothered you, and I want to know what it is so we don't do it again. You should know by now, we are a family, love, and family doesn't leave each other to sulk in their bedroom when they're hurting.” Catalina ducked her head to try and make eye contact with the younger woman, who shrunk back into herself. Sighing, the first Queen tried a more direct approach.

“What is it about Elizabeth that makes you so scared?” This got Cathy’s attention, and quick. The girl’s head snapped up and she tensed, almost preparing for an attack of some sorts. Catalina jumped in surprise at her reaction and held her hands up placatingly. The question had almost been a shot in the dark, and it had obviously hit much closer to the mark than she had intended. 

“Ok, ok, you're ok, I didn't mean to jump into the deep end so quickly. I'm sorry.” Cathy relaxed a little at the apology and looked down at her hands again. Catalina decided to backtrack a little. “I'm going to be honest, I don't know much about your past life, none of us do, so I am going to need your help here, but how about I tell you what I do know and we go from there.” She paused to allow the other girl to process her words, and then continued. “I know that you, like all the wives after me, aided in caring for Henry’s children from past marriages, except you were much closer with them than some of the others. Anna once mentioned that you were especially close with Elizabeth, but she doesn't know to what extent, except she is pretty sure that she lived with you for a while after Henry's death. And I know that you were very protective of all his children, often treating them like your own.”

Cathy nodded slightly at all of this, although hesitantly. Catalina waited patiently for the woman to add onto what she had said, but her goddaughter remained silent, shifting nervously in her chair. The eldest Queen decided that she was just going to have to wait until the other gave in. Many minutes passed before, finally, after Cathy must have realized that Catalina was not going to speak again, the young Queen looked up and spoke. 

“I tried my best with them. I was more of a caretaker than a wife, so I thought I could at least be a mother. That didn't go very well though. Turns out I wasn't very good at either.” Catalina noted the self-deprecating tone that the girl spoke with, but remained quiet, waiting for her to continue. 

“I tried my best, I really did, I swear, but I messed up. Big time. And Elizabeth paid dearly for my mistake. I was stupid. And selfish. And I’m being selfish even now, because instead of owning up to my mistakes, I ran away at the first mention of her.” Cathy’s voice rose steadily the entire time she was speaking, but the last sentence was spoken resignedly, as if she was admitting her greatest regret. When she finished, she stood suddenly in frustration and turned away from the woman on the bed. Catalina was frozen in shock for just a moment before jumping into action. She stood up and approached her goddaughter, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. The girl tensed under the touch, but did not move beyond that. Catherine took a breath and spoke softly.

“Cathy, love, whatever it is, you can talk to me. Everyone makes mistakes, but you have to put them behind you and the only way to do that, especially if those mistakes are literally in a past life, is to talk about them.” Catalina pulled on Cathy’s shoulder and turned her around to face the eldest Queen. The smaller girl crossed her arms protectively in front of her and bit her lip anxiously. “Please talk to me.” Catalina almost begged. She was starting to get really worried. What she had told her goddaughter was a lesson that she had had to learn herself after many sleepless nights regretting things she had done in her past life. Her already unsteady relationship with Anne had worsened when both of them had refused to face each other in a feeble attempt to forget their feud. Honestly, in Catalina’s experience, talking about it was always better. Secrets hurt people, and Cathy was the last person on Earth that the woman wanted to see hurting. This girl was the closest thing she had to a daughter in this life, and she would protect her as such.

“I just don’t want you to hate me.” Her voice was so quiet that Catalina almost didn’t register that she had spoken, but her reaction was immediate nonetheless. The older woman reached down and cupped Cathy’s chin and tilted her head up, looking at her seriously.

“I could never hate you.” Her tone left no room for argument, and when the small woman tried to look away, Catalina held firm, shaking her head. “I mean it, Catherine. I know I don’t tell you this nearly often enough, but I love you. You’re like my daughter, and I could never hate any child of mine. You need to understand this, love. Whatever you did, you can tell me, and I will still be by your side while we figure out how to fix it. I will always be by your side. I could never hate you.” She repeated the last sentence with such ferocity and determination that Cathy could do nothing but nod, tears streaming down her face. Catalina wasn’t sure when the Queen had begun to cry, but the fear and self-loathing in her goddaughter’s eyes were so heart-wrenching that the older woman soon joined in, wiping Cathy’s tears away just to wipe her own right after.

Both women stood in silence for a few moments before Catalina released Cathy, just to slip a hand to the small of her back, leading the Queen to the bed and sitting them both down. The smaller woman immediately pulled her knees up to her chest and shifted so that her back was against the headboard. Catalina followed suit and sat next to Cathy, moving pillows out of the way so they could both fit comfortably. The silence stretched on for a long while before Cathy finally began to speak...


	3. Chapter 3

Cathy had not expected her day to go this way. She had woken up in fairly good spirits, despite being up past four in the morning, and had meant to spend the day hanging out downstairs with the other Queens. Obviously, she was not prepared for the Mother’s Day celebration and all the secrets that came with it. The last Queen knew that she kept too many secrets and that eventually she was going to have to let them out into the open, but that didn’t mean that she was prepared for her deepest secret to come to the surface like that. The girl was well aware that she had been living a lie for the past month, and she knew for certain that the other Queens would never forgive her when they found out, but she has selfishly decided to enjoy the peace while it lasted. In the long run, that probably made it worse, but the decision was not hard to make. In the short time they had been together, she had created amazing relationships with all five other Queens, and she wanted to enjoy the good times while they lasted. 

Her and Anna’s relationship had been a little rocky at first, but any misunderstandings were quickly smoothed over and they became fast friends. They were very different people, but were both incredibly protective and felt that they had suffered the least at Henry’s hands, so they bonded over their survivor’s guilt and their sororal instincts. Anne had been incredibly distant the first couple days, spending almost all of her time either with Katherine or exploring the world. But once the girl worked up her confidence and became the bubbly Queen that they all knew today, she and Cathy bonded almost instantly. Similarly, Katherine had avoided any relationships with any of them, but it was not long before the two ran into each other one night when both could not sleep and had decided to venture down to the kitchen. Since then, late night talks were a common occurrence, and Jane often had to intervene to force the girls back to bed. No matter how much she fought it, Jane became the mother figure almost immediately. She had not wanted to smother the other girls, but the Queens had all assured her that it was fine, that they appreciated it even. Jane was one of the youngest in the house, so while she comforted the others, the older Queens, like Catalina and Anna, always made a point to check in on her. That was how Cathy and Jane found themselves together after being pointedly encouraged to stay home and rest by Anna, and from there, the women became incredibly close. 

It was a nice dynamic they had found themselves. Everyone took care of everyone else, and they all did their best to be open and honest about the things that bother them so the others did not make them upset without meaning to. Of course there were arguments, there would always be arguments, but they were resolved fairly quickly, and the issues were usually silly little things about who got the shower first and what was for breakfast. Sometimes someone would bring something up from their past lives and everyone would get really serious for a moment, and, most of the time, they would all sit down in the living room and talk about things that they remembered. It was cathartic, and more importantly, it was a way to get secrets out into the open. But Cathy had always made sure that she was the one comforting instead of the one being comforted. Sometimes she would talk to Anna, because she was the only one that knew what it felt like to know that they had survived by the skin of their teeth while the others had suffered at the hands of Henry, but the younger Queen made it a point never to talk about specifics. And at two in the morning, when Kitty was talking about her latest nightmare, sometimes Cathy would admit how she purposefully distracted herself until three in the morning so she could avoid the endless spiral of thoughts that she would be stuck in if she tried to go to sleep, but usually Kitty would just hug her and tell her that she still needed to sleep. The girl meant well, and she was right, of course, but she never asks what those pesky thoughts were about. Not that Cathy would have told her anyway. 

Catherine felt absolutely horrible when all the other Queens spilled their deepest secrets around the dining room table and she just sat there, nodding and smiling, like she was perfect. Logically, she knew that all of the women had secrets that they refused to share with the others, but it was hard to remember when Kitty was talking about the men who hurt her or when Anne apologised to Catalina for the hundredth time. Then, it felt like Cathy was just a pretender, a fake who was acting like she belonged until the others found her out and realized that she wasn’t really one of them. Still, she kept on pretending, hoping that maybe, somehow, Anne would never become curious and dig deep into Elizabeth’s life, or that Anna would never connect the dots between Cathy and the girl. So when Jane showed her that photo, her heart stopped. She had known this time was coming, but foolishly, she hoped that she would have another month or two. And yeah, she knew that her reaction had probably made it worse, but it was only natural that she still fought for herself, wasn’t it? Running was her first instinct, and maybe, just maybe, they would all let the subject drop.

No such luck. Somehow she knew it was going to be Catalina who knocked on her door. Her godmother had always been able to see through her mask, to see when she was hiding her feelings, and on the rare occurrences that Cathy did talk to someone, it was almost always the older Catherine. The Queen would sit and listen patiently as Cathy spoke, usually after waking from a particularly unpleasant nightmare. Still, the young Queen tried to ignore her. She could feel the end to her secrets coming, but she would cherish the precious few last moments she had. These girls had become her family. And, like Catalina always said, family fights for each other. In Cathy’s case, that meant fighting against them in a desperate attempt to keep them around. But her godmother was persistent, as always, and eventually Cathy had to let her in, and, eventually, she had to turn around, and, of course, eventually, she had to talk to her. 

So now, here she was. Resting against the wall with Catalina by her side, tears still steadily flowing, but slowed. She might as well get this over with. The girl wanted desperately to believe the older woman when she said that she would always be by her side, but she wouldn’t blame Catalina if this was too much to forgive. Still, in her heart, Cathy knew this was the best way. She should have done this weeks ago, but this was it. At least she was admitting it herself, instead of Anne or the other Queens finding out by themselves. Taking a breath and steeling herself, Cathy finally began to speak...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise you, at one point, this was going to be a one-shot, but this may end up being like six chapters or something. I love angsty Parr, and I have read a lot of really amazing fics about this topic with Elizabeth and Cathy that were short and sweet, but I want to see if I can try and flesh it out a bit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cathy's secret is finally revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify something real quick, I will most likely not have any romantic ships in any of my Six stories. Not because I don't like them or something, its just a personal decision (and I suck at writing romance). I also tend to like the Queens as a huge family dynamic better.  
> Sorry, folks.
> 
> On the same note, if you see some of the relationships I write as romantic, thats all the more power to you. I'm totally cool with that.
> 
> Finally, this is based off of actual events in history, but I altered them a little for the story. If you want to know more about Cathy's relationship with Elizabeth, I suggest you read some articles online, because it is actually quite interesting.

“I suppose I better start from the beginning. This is a fairly long story, and I want to tell it as honestly as possible as to avoid any bias, but I only know my side of the story. And I think it is only fair to myself if I give you some context to defend myself a little.” Cathy began. She glanced at Catalina, who nodded and waited for her to continue.

“My mom, your lady-in-waiting, which I guess you already knew, arranged my first marriage when I was seventeen. After both he and my mother died, I got married again in order to support myself. That marriage was quite dramatic, to say the least, but that guy died eventually as well. I was convinced that I was doomed to a life in solitude. It was only after I reconnected with your Mary that I found a man that I actually loved, or so I thought. It just so happened that he was Jane’s brother. We got along fairly well and he actually seemed to love me. Just when we were getting close, though, Henry took notice of me. I didn’t really have a choice when he proposed, so I left Thomas, my love, and married the King.” Her tone was matter of fact, purely telling a story. Her eyes, though, were full of emotion. Catalina knew that this was something that she needed to get off her chest. 

“I was under no illusions about my new husband. He had already gone through five wives in the short time that I had been alive. I hadn’t met any of the other Queens, besides you, of course, but I knew enough. Four out of his former five wives were dead, and if I wasn’t careful, I would be next. The threat of execution was always hanging over my head, no pun intended, but I was never one to know when to shut up, was I?” Cathy scoffed and shook her head, pausing for a moment. 

“Anyway, now I’m stalling. Long story short, I worked hard to get close with his children, our children, because I knew that Henry’s death was imminent. If I survived this marriage, there would be a day when I was left alone with a country and children who were not prepared to run it. And I did survive. Funnily enough, it was lies and twisted words that saved me from his execution order. I suppose that's why I try to avoid conflict now. The last time I provoked someone I loved, I nearly got my head chopped off.” 

The last Queen trailed off. This revelation was new to her, something she had never considered before. She really should join in on those group “Henry was an abusive prick” sessions more often. Hidden trauma is a tricky thing, and it usually comes out in a conversation like this, surprising everyone involved. For example, Catalina was trying very hard to not ask her goddaughter to elaborate on this touchy subject. There was obviously much more to this story. These questions were better saved until the end. Cathy seemed to notice the awkward silence and quickly continued.

“Sorry. That’s not the point. In fact, that's just the beginning. After Henry’s death and Edward’s coronation, I moved out of the castle, intending to live a peaceful life without the drama of court. I remained in close contact with my step-children for a while, but we eventually drifted apart, except, of course, Elizabeth and I. She moved in with me. Shortly after, I reconnected with Thomas. Marrying him so soon after the King’s death was looked down upon, but we had already waited years, so we did it anyway. It was so nice, playing family. Thomas, Elizabeth, and I, we lived peacefully together for a while. I had everything I ever wanted. I believed that Thomas, unlike my previous three husbands, really loved me. Why else would he have waited all those years for me. And Elizabeth, oh, she adored me. Her past three mothers had not stuck around long, not to any fault of their own, of course, but I was so close with her.” Her voice broke, just a little, and Cathy swallowed a sob. The constant throb of guilt and shame clutching at her heart was almost too much to bear, but she was on a roll. She couldn’t stop now. Still, the Queen took a moment to collect herself. Catalina was still listening patiently, in true Catalina fashion. After a few minutes, she began again.

“I don't know when it started. I’ve tried to look it up, but historians don’t seem to know much more than I do. It was all so sudden, too. I was blinded by love, and newly pregnant to top it all off. One day one of the ladies of the home came to me with urgent news: Thomas was acting inappropriately with Elizabeth.” A pause. Catalina sucked in a breath. It wasn’t hard to see where this was going.

“I refused to believe it. My loving husband, soon to be father of my child, could not hurt this fourteen year old girl. It wasn’t possible. He was a good man, a loving man. I maintained that position until the end of my life. It wasn’t until we all came back and I let myself process everything that I realized who he was and what he did, but it was too late” Cathy paused once more, lost in thought yet again. It was only for a moment, though, before she shook her head and continued.

“For a while, I turned a blind eye. Elizabeth never complained, and Thomas was just as amazing as ever. We all just carried on, pretending nothing was happening. It almost worked, too. Until Thomas decided that I should join on the fun too.” The youngest Queen choked up, unable to continue. The heavy silence hung over the two women for a long while as Cathy tried to get her voice under control again. Catalina braced herself for the rest of the story. She was determined to stay true to her word and stick by her goddaughter’s side through thick and thin, but that didn’t stop her from getting a little upset. This was a big secret, one that Cathy had no right to keep, but she would stay here. She would always be by her side, even if that meant hearing the words she dreaded the most.

“I hurt her.” Cathy sobbed, pulling her knees closer to her chest. “I touched her.” Her voice was laced with guilt and shame, of course, but more prominently, fear. Whether it was of the woman next to her or herself, neither Queen could say. Trembling, voice weak, the younger girl forced herself to continue. 

“The historical records are actually fairly accurate. My part in the... the ordeal never went farther than a few ‘games’. I truly had no idea that what I was doing was harmful until after. I was so blind, so foolish. I honestly have no idea how much Thomas did. It didn’t go on for very long, but once I finally realized what a horrible thing I had done, I was very pregnant and incredibly ashamed. And, like always, instead of owning up to my mistakes, I ran. I sent a traumatized, vulnerable fifteen year old girl away, trying to return to my old life like nothing had happened. That might be the worst of it. I never apologized. For all I know, Elizabeth lived the rest of her life thinking that I hated her for stealing the attention of my husband. I didn’t, I swear, I didn’t. I never blamed her. Never.” Cathy’s sobbs had begun to die down, and now she had returned to the almost emotionless tone, but the last few sentences were spoke with such conviction that it broke Catalina from her state of shock. The woman turned and looked at the shaking ball next to her that was her goddaughter and blinked. She spoke for the first time in a while, voice steely, but soft nonetheless.

“I believe you. Go on.” Cathy started at the words, but nodded tentatively, taking a deep breath and uncurling slightly.

“I died shortly after giving birth to my little Mary. I tried my best to forget about it all, about Elizabeth, but it haunted me to my grave, which I probably deserved. And when we all woke up, when I first saw Anne, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had done. I knew that she deserved to know. You all deserved to know, but I was so scared. It's not an excuse, but it is the only explanation I have. I was so desperate for a family. I know that that’s pretty pathetic and pitiful, but it's the truth. I thought that if I just kept quiet, maybe, somehow, I could finally have the family I’ve always wanted, but I was foolish, and selfish. So when Anne called me ‘the ultimate mom’, it hit me. I was never a mother, not really. And the minute that Anne hears about this, our relationship will never be the same. That goes for all of the Queens, actually. My god, Kitty.” Cathy breathed out the girl’s name as if she was breaking some sort of rule. The room was silent again for a long while. Cathy seemed to be piecing her next words together carefully. Finally, she spoke, voice level and distant.

“I know that you don’t owe me anything. In fact, I wouldn’t blame you if you up and left right now. And I would never ask you to forgive me, because I know that sort of thing takes time, and I haven’t decided whether I deserve forgiveness yet, thought it isn’t my place to decide. But I don’t know how to continue from here, and I could really use some advice. The others deserve to know, and I deserve whatever consequences come from my actions. Catalina, I could really use someone to tell me what to do now. If you want me to pack my things and leave right now, I will, but I would be eternally grateful if you would just... tell me what I need to do, because I don’t think I trust myself to make any proper decisions right now.” Her voice faltered a little with the last couple words, but she finished strong. Catalina stayed unmoving, still staring at the smaller girl. Cathy didn’t dare look up, instead focusing on the blankets below. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the eldest Queen opened her mouth, and Cathy steeled herself for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the best writing I have ever done, but I hope that I was able to get the emotion across to you all. The chapter is mostly dialogue, which is hard for me, but I wanted Cathy to get it all out there in one go. 
> 
> Also, just to clarify, Cathy is not trying to get any pity from Catalina. I was really afraid that it would come off that way, but she is really trying to give an unbiased account of events, even if that means defending herself a little bit. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this chapter, because it was so much fun to write (I cried at least once) but also a real challenge.


	5. Chapter 5

Catalina was in shock. And, really, who could blame her? This was not what she had expected when her goddaughter began speaking. The eldest Queen had been there when Kitty had recounted what men had done to her when she was younger, and the woman had sworn that she would make anyone who did that to a child pay, but now, someone like that was sitting right next to her. But this was Cathy, she reminded herself. This was a girl that she watched grow up, in both this life and the past one. She loved Catherine, and she would keep her promise, but Catalina was still angry. Angry at the girl for being so stupid and missing her husband’s intentions. Angry at her for hurting a vulnerable child and then sending her away. But mostly, she was angry at her for keeping this secret for so long. It was understandable, sure, but this should have been the first thing out of the Queen’s mouth when they all sat down and talked about their pasts for the first time. But she hadn’t and now everyone was going to pay the price. 

One step at a time, she told herself. First, she should probably respond to the girl’s pleas. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to respond.

“We aren’t going to kick you out. As you well know, sending your problems away doesn’t fix anything.” She couldn’t help but include the little jab, only feeling a little bit guilty when Cathy inhaled sharply. Whether it was at the use of the word ‘problem’ to describe her or the reference to Elizabeth, she wasn’t sure. Probably both. “You are going to need to tell the rest of the Queens the whole story, without leaving anything out. I feel that it would be easiest if we did it all at once.” The Queen’s voice was steely, cold, and purely logical. She softened a little, however, when Cathy looked up in surprise.

“Yes, ‘we’. I will be by your side the whole time. I'm going to be completely honest, I am pretty upset with you, but mostly because you lied to us for long. And I don't know what's going to happen, but I promise you, I will never, never hate you.” Catalina looked at the girl pointedly. “Do you understand me?”

Cathy swallowed and nodded. “Yes ma’am.” 

“None of that. We are all adults here.” She said this, despite the fact that the final Queen looked more like a scolded child than a grown woman. It reminded Catalina of Anne, when the girl had done something dangerous and was receiving a firm talking-to from Jane. She then remembered that Cathy wasn't that much older than Anne. Both girls were younger than people tended to think they were. And the two had become so close. Her heart ached when she thought about how Anne was going to react. She had every right to be angry, furious even, but this whole situation was so difficult. There was nothing Cathy could do now. Elizabeth has been dead for hundreds of years. Catalina felt a huge responsibility to make sure this whole thing was handled as smoothly as possible. The six Queens were going to be living together for the foreseeable future, and it would be incredibly unpleasant if one of them was shunned by the rest of them. They needed to come out the other side intact, all of them, and Catalina would make sure they did.

“Here's what you're going to do.” Cathy looked up and watched her godmother attentively. “We are going to go downstairs and you announce that you need to tell them something. They will all be worried about you, but please don't try and prolong this any longer. It will just hurt you, and the point of this is to avoid as much pain as possible, for everyone involved.” The younger Queen nodded in understanding. Catalina gave her a soft smile. 

“Whatever happens, whatever they say, I'll be with you. Ok?” Cathy nodded again. “Do you want a moment before we go down?” This time, the woman didn't answer, but she didn't say no, so Catalina just waited. After a few minutes, Catherine Parr crawled off the bed and stood, the older woman following close behind. Before Cathy could walk out the door, though, Catalina grabbed her arm and turned the girl to face her.

“Catherine, err... Cathy.” The tremble in her voice was hidden well, but still detectable. The first Queen studied Cathy, brows furrowing, before sighing and pulling her into a hug. “I love you.”

Cathy tensed, but slowly returned the hug. 

“I love you too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, but it's important.


	6. Chapter 6

The remaining Queens were all quite worried, just as Catalina had predicted. Kitty and Anna had wanted to know everything that had happened before they had arrived, and Anne gave them a quick run down, but Jane quickly changed the topic. Whatever was going on, Catalina could take care of it. Instead, the third Queen sat the other two down at the table and insisted that they ate breakfast. The sausages in the microwave had gotten cold, so she reheated them once more and set them out. 

After their light breakfast, the four Queens tried to continue on with their morning like normal, but without the two Catherines, it proved quite difficult. When eleven o’clock rolled around, Jane and Anna were sitting on the couch, watching “Criminal Minds”. Kitty was curled up in the chair across from them, scrolling through Tumblr, and Anne was tinkering with something on the porch. The atmosphere seemed peaceful, but the Queens couldn't help but worry about Cathy, and the tension could be felt all around the room.

That was why, then, when they heard footsteps descending the stairs, all four of them quickly turned their attention to the doorway. Anna paused their show and Anne came back inside, perching behind Kitty’s chair. Soon enough, a very distraught looking Cathy appeared, Catalina close behind. The younger girl froze when she saw them all staring, and glanced back at her godmother. The woman nodded and gave the final Queen a soft nudge, pushing her gently farther into the room. There was silence for a moment, Cathy shifting nervously and picking at her nails. Anne was the first to speak.

“Cathy? Are you alright, love?” She sounded so genuinely concerned that the woman in question could barely stifle a sob. This, of course, only made the other women more concerned.

“Catherine, please talk to us.” That was Anna, who had stood and was slowly walking to the two women. Cathy swallowed and took a breath before striding over to the dining room and abruptly sitting down at the head of the table. All five Queens watched her in confusion, but Catalina quickly followed and sat next to her. 

“Catalina? What's going on?” Jane walked around the table and slid onto the bench across from the eldest Queen, sitting as well. The other three caught on quickly and followed suit. 

“Cathy needs to tell you something. Catherine?” Catalina looked expectantly at the young woman, who wiped her eyes and nodded.

“Yeah. Um...” she trailed off, trying to collect herself. Kitty looked panicked.

“Did someone hurt you?”

“No, no. Actually.... Actually, I hurt someone.” Anne inhaled sharply from her seat across from Cathy. 

“Ok?”

“Just, just let me explain. Whatever you want to say, whatever you want to ask me, just let me finish. Please.” Her voice shook, just loud enough to be heard, but the others just nodded in agreement.

\----

Catherine Parr then proceeded to tell the same story she had told her godmother, almost word for word. It was an obvious struggle, voice constantly breaking and the occasional sob escaping from her throat. She didn't look up from her lap the entire time. Her story finished right after explaining why she hadn't told them sooner. She left out the explanation for the morning events, assuming that that was pretty obvious. 

Sometime in the middle Jane had started to cry. At the climax, when Cathy admitted what she had done, voice barely understandable, Anne had stood in frustration and turned to face the window. Shortly after, Kitty stood as well and moved to comfort her cousin. Anna remained stoic, but her eyes glistened in sympathy. Catalina watched them all, measuring their reactions. She was actually quite surprised. No one had exploded in rage or left the room sobbing yet, so that was a good sign.

The silence that followed was painful. No one moved and the only sound was sniffling and muffled sobs. Surprisingly, it was Anna who broke the silence.

“What happened to your Mary?”

“What?” Cathy's head shot up, incredulous.

“Your girl, Mary. I never heard of her.” Anna sounded genuinely curious, and the younger Queen quickly wiped her eyes and stared at her.

“Um, I actually don't know. Historians lost track of her shortly after I died. They assume she only lived until she was two. I researched her for days, but I couldn't find anything. No portrait, no record. Nothing.” 

“I'm sorry. That really sucks.” 

“Oh. Oh, no, that's ok. That wasn't actually the point...” she trailed off, obviously confused.

“Oh I know. I just wanted to ask.” 

“Oh, ok. I... I'm really, really sorry guys. I totally understand if you hate me, or if you want me to go. Catalina said that you wouldn't send me away, but I'll do whatever you all want me to do. I know I can't really fix what happened, but I'll do whatever you need to earn your forgiveness. And if I can't earn it, then I'll live with that too. What I did was inexcusable, and I'll spend the rest of my life proving that I will never do it again.” 

Cathy’s voice was stronger than it had been for the past hour. Anna nodded in response and Catalina reached over to squeeze the young Queen’s hand. Anne, though, turned around furiously.

“Nice speech you rehearsed. Was it a lie like everything else you've ever told us?” The second Queen spat. Kitty looked shocked at her outburst and laid a hand on her shoulder, but Anne just shrugged it off.

“All those times I admited how much I missed Elizabeth and you reassured me that she grew up happy, it was a lie. All those times we talked about our pasts and you stayed quiet, I assumed you were hiding some horrible thing that Henry had done to you, but that was a lie. All you've done, this whole time we've known you, was lie. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad you finally told us, because if I had found out by myself, I may have never spoken to you again, but I...” Her voice broke. “I just can't do this right now. I need some time.” 

And with that, Anne ran off up the stairs. Kitty reached out to stop her, but it was too late. Looking between where her cousin had just been and the rest of the Queens still sitting at the table, the youngest Queen paused for just a moment before making to follow the other. 

“Kitty” Cathy sobbed. Katherine froze, but didn't look back, obviously pausing to see what the Queen had to say. “I'm sorry.” Kitty sighed and ran her hand through her pink hair. 

“I know. Just.... just give me some time.” 

The fifth Queen disappeared up the steps, leaving four women sitting at the table. Cathy violently wiped at her tears and attempted to fix her clothes, sitting up straighter. Glancing over at the two Queens to her left, she saw Jane’s tears slowing and Anna watching her intently. 

“I don't think I'm mad at you.” The fourth Queen said. Cathy was shocked and looked back at her godmother, who simply shrugged. “Yeah, you really messed up, but that's human. You never meant to hurt anyone, and that's what matters to me. I'm disappointed, sure, but mostly because you decided to keep this a secret instead of confiding in us." Anna sighed and looked pointedly at the girl at the head of the table. "We are your friends, Cathy. Your family. Do you understand?” The Queen stood up and approached the younger girl, who shrunk back into herself a little, but nodded nonetheless.

“Good. And Cathy”

“Hmm?” 

“Don't you ever say you're not a mother again. Just because you made mistakes doesn't mean that those girls were not yours.” Anna gave her a stern glance, but it was countered by her soft smile. The older woman ruffled the girl’s curly hair. “As far as I’m concerned, you're forgiven. Just promise me this. If you ever, ever have something like this, you come to me.” 

“I promise.”

“You'll get through this, kid. Just give them time.” The older woman then left, also going upstairs. Cathy released a breath that she didn't know she had been holding and turned to Jane, who looked much calmer than before. 

“I’m really, really sorry Jane. “ Cathy quickly returned to picking at her nails, nerves back. She didn’t know what she was going to do if the third Queen was angry. Jane was never angry. But she didn’t look angry. Mostly just sad.

“Me too, love. Me too.” She sighed, a soft smile playing across her face. At the older girl’s look of confusion, Jane continued. “I’m sorry that you never found someone who actually loved you. I know how it feels to believe that someone loves you just to discover that they just wanted your kid. And I’m sorry that you lost your daughter, and that you died the same way I did. I’m especially sorry that you didn’t feel like you could trust us.” 

“None of that was your fault, any of you.” Cathy said, incredulously. “This is all on me”

“Catherine Parr.” Jane’s voice became uncharacteristically hard, her expression stern. “What is the number one rule in this house, especially concerning past lives?”

“Um, no victim blaming?” At a curt nod from the younger Queen, Cathy became even more confused. “But, I...” she was quickly inturrupted.

“Are not to blame for what those men did to you. Don’t get me wrong, you really messed up, not telling us, but it's understandable. I’m not angry. Upset, yes, but not angry. And I forgive you, but I am going to need a little time to trust you again. Just..." A pause. Jane's expression softeened as she made eye contact with the other Queen. "Just keep being the beautiful young woman that we all know and love, and we will make sure to check in on you more often.” The woman rose from her seat and squeezed the Queen’s shoulder. 

“I’ll try.” Cathy had been completely thrown off by the Queen’s reactions. Not as much Anne and Kitty, that she expected, but Jane and Anna were much more forgiving than she had dared to hope. Still, the final Queen knew she had a while to go before she regained their trust. 

“I am truly sorry for what happened to you, Catherine. Trust me, getting it off your chest makes it so much easier. Which is why, by the way, you are required at every “Rant about Henry” meeting for the next month at least. And you will be the first one speaking. If you miss even one, I will track you down and tie you to the chair.” 

\---

By the time Cathy had processed the threat, Jane was also gone. Whatever force had gotten all four of the other Queens to silently agree to leave Catalina and Cathy alone, the two were glad for it. After hearing the story twice, the first Queen was becoming more and more sympathetic, and, slowly, her anger was dulling. She was truly shocked at the third and fourth Queen’s reactions, but eternally glad for their understanding. Jane and Anna had always been the more rational ones. Catalina had always tried to be rational, especially when she was shoved into leadership positions, but above all, she was loyal to the ones she loved, and that sometimes clouded her judgment. Jane, on the other hand, was very good at separating her heart and her head, even if she was one of the more empathetic Queens. The eldest supposed it was probably a skill that she had picked up in her last life. And Anna, she was quite adept at dealing with sudden change and surprises. Whenever any new problem arose, she was always the first to act. It was in times like these that Catalina was incredibly grateful for the stark personality differences in the six Queens. 

“I’d say that went rather well.” Catalina broke the silence. Her goddaughter shot her a scathing look.

“Well? I was a complete mess the entire time. I thought the whole point was to deliver an unbiased account of events, not one consistently interrupted by my sobs.” Cathy scoffed, shaking her head and turning away.

“Maybe, but it was a quite unrealistic goal, I must admit. For the circumstances, you were incredibly brave.” 

“Really?” The way she asked the question, so genuinely curious and innocent, clenched Catalina’s heart.

“Of course. And two out of four, that's not bad.” The first Queen tried to lighten the conversation, but to little avail.

“Yeah, that was... a pleasant surprise. And as for Anne and Katherine, I suppose I deserved that.” Cathy curled back in on herself, wiping at her eyes aggressively. Catalina studied the younger woman for a moment before standing.

“Maybe so. But you are a smart young woman, and I’m sure you already know that you will have to work to gain their forgiveness and trust.” Before the elder could move away, Cathy’s hand shot out to stop her. 

“Please don’t leave me. You promised.” She pleaded, pitifully, voice breaking yet again. The atmosphere of the room changed quickly. Catalina raised her eyebrows in shock and immediately knelt down to look at her goddaughter, clutching her hands tightly. 

“No, never. I was just getting up to fix us some dinner. It's half past one and you haven’t eaten all day. I’m sure the rest of the Queens are also getting hungry, but we can grab something and then go back to your room, if you want. They won’t want to come down and interrupt.” Cathy looked away sheepishly.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Come on, up you get.” Pulling the younger girl out of her chair, Catalina led her to the counter. “Now, what do you want? I think we still have some pasta from yesterday that we can heat up, or we have cheese and crackers. Grapes too. Wow, we are in desperate need of a grocery run.” The Queen dug around in the fridge, pushing aside the milk to find nothing. Glancing behind her, the other woman just gave a half-hearted shrug. It was then that Catalina noticed how Cathy swayed on her feet, using the counter for support. She turned and closed the fridge, reaching out to steady the final Queen.

“When was the last time you slept for more than three hours in a row?” Another shrug. Running a frustrated hand through her hair, the older woman sighed. Cathy immediately jumped in to defend herself.

“It's fine, though. I’ve functioned on less. Cheese and crackers are good, I’ll eat those.”

“Ok, perfect. And functioning on a normal day is different than functioning after what was probably the most emotional six hours of your second life. We are taking the food, going up to your room, and you are going to sleep.” Catalina grabbed the food from the fridge and began to lead the girl up the stairs, despite her protests.

“Catty, it's two in the afternoon. And what about Kitty and Anne?” The older woman just kept walking, pulling a stumbling Catherine behind her.

“Perfect time for a nap. And they can wait until tomorrow. We all need a little time to calm down. Come on, love.” 

The two quickly ended up in Cathy’s bedroom. After eating dinner, Catalina basically forced the other to change clothes and lay down. It didn’t take long, though, after a guarantee from the first Queen that she would be there the whole time, for Cathy to fall asleep.

\---

When Catherine Parr awoke around seven, Catalina was indeed still there, sitting at her desk and reading a book. After many assurances from the younger girl that she would be fine, Catalina left her goddaughter to her newest writing project. Making her way down the hall, she found both Katherine and Anna’s rooms empty. A quick stop on the next floor revealed Anne and Kitty curled up on the former’s bed, fast asleep. Smiling gently to herself, the Queen quietly shut the door and continued down the stairs. Jane and Anna were sitting around the table, chatting amicably. They smiled at Catalina when she entered, and the three had a quick, unspoken conversation. Content with the answer they recieved, the two younger Queens invited Catalina to join them.

Two hours later, after a few episodes of the newest cartoon Jane had deemed necessary for the Queen’s adjustment to society, the three decided to head to bed. Jane and Anna bid the older Queen goodnight and retreated to their rooms, but Catalina went straight to the sixth Queen’s room. Peaking in, she spotted Cathy curled up on top of the covers, laptop open by her head. Chuckling, she quickly saved her document and moved the laptop, then gently tucked the girl under the covers. Before she shut the light off, though, she took a moment to take in the sleeping form of her goddaughter. She had learned so much about the woman that day, and sometimes it was hard to remember that they were all just humans trying their best to navigate the world around them. Tomorrow, there would be time for more apologies and, hopefully, steps toward forgiveness, but tonight... Tonight was a time to rest, to take a breath, and remember that they were all hurting, and that everyone deserves a second chance.

Smiling softly toward herself, Catalina flipped the switch and shut the door. She quietly made her way to her own room and settled down, hoping for a restful night of sleep. Of course, she could never be so lucky. When she was woken from a peaceful dream by screams, originating from somewhere in the house, the woman only sighed and dragged herself out from under covers slowly. Nothing ever went as planned, not in this house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A packed chapter, but personally, my favorite part is the idea of Jane, Catalina, and Anna, arguably the most serious Queens, watching children's cartoons together. But that's just me. Anyway....
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Screams in the night were not an uncommon occurrence in the Queen house. The first couple nights, all of the women tried desperately to seem strong, unafraid, and so their screams were always written off as being startled by something, or an overreaction. But as time went on, they slowly learned to accept help from each other, and soon their nights were filled with group bonding sessions after one of them woke from a nightmare. 

At first, it was just Kitty and Anne, and Jane or Catalina would be the first one at their door, ready to hold them until they fell back asleep or listen as they talked. Anna and Cathy would usually arrive shortly after, checking to see if there was anything they could do. Soon, though, it was all of the Queens.

When Jane awoke one night in tears, she tried her best to stay quiet, but Kitty must have sensed something was wrong, so she came to check on her. The two quickly fell into a pattern. Whenever Jane had a nightmare and wanted comfort, she would slip into the younger Queen’s room and curl up in her bed. 

Catalina had denied vehemently that she had nightmares, but with Anne’s room right next to hers, the other girl always heard. After the two made peace with each other, Anne would check on the older Queen. Usually she would just sit with her until she fell asleep, but sometimes they would end up sleeping in the same bed. When morning came, neither of them complained.

Anna rarely had nightmares. She assured the others that she didn't have any hidden trauma to have nightmares about, so she was completely fine. And the woman believed it too, for a while, before she woke in a cold sweat, trembling silently. After much internal debate, she found herself in Cathy’s room. The younger woman was still awake, engrossed in a book, but when she saw Anna standing in the doorway, sniffling, the story was immediately forgotten. The two sat and talked about anything and everything until Anna started to drift back to sleep.

Cathy was the last one to allow any of that other Queens to comfort her in the night. In hindsight, it was probably because she didn't want to have to explain what the nightmares were about, but the Queens didn't know that at the time. After one to many times being woken in the night just to be sent away, Anna decided that she was going to have to bring in reinforcements. Soon, with Catalina in tow, the two women stood at the final Queen’s door and refused to leave until she let them in. Now, it was not uncommon to find Cathy in Catalina’s room, curled up in her lap, when the Queens awoke in the morning. 

\---

Still, Catalina had hoped that the nightmares would take the night off. Everyone needed their rest, and based on how quickly she had been woken up, she doubted anyone could have slept through that sound. The oldest Queen was surprised, though, when peeked into Anne’s room to find it empty. She had assumed that one of the two cousins had been the source of the scream. 

If it wasn't them, Catalina was pretty sure she knew who it was, although she desperately hoped she was wrong. A door shutting behind her alerted the woman to the fact that Jane had also woken and was following close behind. This was all normal nightmare ‘protocol’. What wasn't normal, however, was the sight that greeted the two women when they emerged onto the top floor. Standing by her goddaughter’s room were Kitty and Anna, both focused on something through the open door. Catalina walked faster. If those two were outside, that means that Anne was with Catherine. Before she could push through the girls in the doorway, though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned to see Jane holding her back. The woman’s eyes were clearly saying one thing: ‘Trust them.’

\---

Anne and Katherine were both woken by the screams as well. It only took them a moment to realize that it wasn’t either of them and to make their way into the hallway. They could hear Jane and Catalina waking in their rooms, so they knew it wasn’t either of the other women on the floor. The chances that Anna had had a nightmare so horrible that she was screaming were pretty slim, so that only left one person. Both of the young Queens seemed to come to this realization at the same time, looking at each other nervously. After a quick nonverbal conversation, it was decided. Without any more though, they made their way upstairs and to the final Queen’s door. 

“I got this.” The older Queen assured her cousin. Katherine didn’t look convinced.

“Are you sure, Anne? We can wait for Catalina, or Jane. Even Anna. You don’t have to do this.” 

“I know. But I want to. Just, stay out here and tell the others to let me handle it. Please.” Anne looked so determined that Katherine could do nothing but nod. With that, the second Queen opened the door and slipped inside. 

On the bed, tangled up in the sheets, was a disheveled looking Cathy. Her curly hair was splayed over the pillow and she clutched onto the blankets like a lifeline. When Anne entered, the Queen curled up into a ball and began to whimper. It was then that Anne noticed that the woman was still asleep. Slowly, she approached the bed. The younger woman wasn’t sure what had possessed her to come check on Cathy, because just hours ago, she wanted to be anywhere that the other wasn’t, but now that she was here, she knew she couldn’t just leave the final Queen like this. Still, she was nervous. 

“Please, please don’t, I’m sorry.” Cathy was pleading with someone, though Anne couldn’t tell who. “Don’t hurt her! Take me instead, it's my fault.” The Queen quickly sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to wake the screaming woman. 

“Cathy, come on, wake up.” Her efforts were futile, though, and the dreaming girl kept thrashing about, fighting against a non-existent force. Anne was about to shake her awake when Cathy said something that caused her to pause.

“Elizabeth, no!” Anne was frozen for just a moment, before redoubling her efforts. She considered getting another Queen for help, but at the mention of her daughter, she knew she had to do this herself. When Anne tried to grab her arms, though, Cathy panicked and swung about violently, narrowly missing the Queen’s face. “No, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry Anne.” Cathy sobbed. The younger woman thought for a moment that the Queen had finally woken, but the girl remained stuck in whatever nightmare she was in, which meant that Anne was in her dream. She looked helplessly back at the door to see Katherine and Anna staring at her, both equally confused. Kitty shrugged and tilted her head questioningly. Anne shook her head. She could handle this.

“Cathy, come on. It's not real, you’re ok. You’re safe. ” With a final firm shake, the Queen’s eyes flew open and her screams were replaced by panicked, short breaths. There was a beat as she took in her surroundings before she promptly burst into tears again, pushing herself away from Anne, who sighed in relief. “There you are.” The girl heard movement behind her and turned just in time to see Jane and Catalina arrive. The four Queens in the doorway were watching the scene with intense curiosity. Anne was just about to assure them that she had the situation under control when Cathy spoke once more, voice frantic and shaky. 

“Anne, I’m so sorry. Please, I’m so sorry, please. Please don’t hurt me.” Catherine sat up and wrapped her arms protectively around her torso, closing her eyes tightly and preparing for an attack. Anne stared at her, horrified. 

“What? No! Why would I ever hurt you?” The Queen asked incredulously. She desperately wanted to touch the other woman, but held herself back. Cathy slowly opened one eye and looked at her suspiciously, looking so innocent and fragile that Anne couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy, despite how she currently felt toward the woman. 

“You’re angry with me.” Cathy muttered, as if that explained everything. Anne sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before answering.

“Well... yeah, I am, but I still wouldn’t hurt you. That wouldn’t solve anything, would it?” The older Queen just shrugged in response. “No, it wouldn’t” Anne answered her own question. “Why would you even think that?” Another shrug. Cathy’s gaze remained trained on the blanket. Anne wracked her brain to figure out what she could have possibly done to make the woman feel this way, but she quickly realized that it wasn’t her. It must have been the one person who had managed to leave lasting effects on all six of the Queens: Henry. 

“Oh, Cathy.” Anne whispered. “That’s not how things work around here, you know that.” 

“I'm sorry” Cathy pulled her knees closer to her chest. The younger Queen shook her head.

“Don't be. Care to tell me what the nightmare was about?” Anne sounded genuinely curious and caring, so much so that Cathy couldn't help but nod.

“Henry. And.... and Elizabeth.” She looked down ashamedly. “He was mad at me, so he issued an arrest and execution order. Except, instead of it being for me like in real life, it was for Liz. And when the guards came to take her away, I tried to save her, but Henry and Thomas were holding me back and I couldn't move. They took us out to” she paused, trembling “...there, and when the time came and she was up in front of everyone, you appeared and were so mad at me, because it was all my fault. Because I couldn't keep my damn mouth shut and be the good little wife Henry wanted. And Liz was paying the price. And no matter how much I begged, Henry would just laugh and laugh. I tried to apologize, I really did, to you and to Henry, but nothing worked. She died and it was all my fault. I'm so sorry, Anne.” 

Cathy dissolved into tears and hid her face behind her hands. Anne sat in shock. Cathy rarely swore, even mildly, and that wasn't even the most surprising part. In the girl’s story downstairs, she had mentioned something about an execution order, but Anne had forgotten about it until this moment. This was something that she could relate to. The terror of finding out that your husband, the most powerful man in the country, wanted you dead and had the power to carry through on that wish, it was incredibly overwhelming and a feeling that she would never wish upon another person. Knowing that both Kitty and Cath had experienced it, that hurt. And the fact that Cathy’s nightmare had been about her and Elizabeth reminded the Queen that the other woman really did care, even if she made mistakes. The thought was comforting. 

“Hey, shh. It's ok, love. It was only a dream. You’re safe. Henry and Thomas can never touch you again.” Anne scooted closer to the crying woman and wrapped her in a hug. For a moment, Cathy relaxed into the other’s arms, before realizing what she was doing and jumping back.

“No! This isn’t right. You’re not supposed to be comforting me. I’m the one who hurt you. You... you should be mad at me. Aren’t you mad at me?” The woman looked incredulously up at Anne, voice desperate. Anne sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“I mean... yes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love you, or care about you. I’m mad about what you did in the past to hurt someone I love, not something you did now to hurt me. And I know that you’ve changed since then. The part that upsets me the most is that you didn’t tell us before, but I am sure that you will do everything in your power to prove to us that you are worthy of our trust and forgiveness.” 

Cathy nodded fervently at that, eyes wide. Anne smiled at her, bringing the other Queen back in for a hug. The two stayed like that in silence for many minutes before Anne glanced towards the doorway. She had probably been talking to Cathy for half an hour, so she was surprised when she saw all four Queens still in the hallway. Kitty had sat down against the wall and was currently leaning on Jane, both drowsily watching the conversation. Anna had situated herself in the doorway, back against one post and feet on the other, scrolling through her phone, but obviously paying attention to the girls. Only Catalina remained standing, intently watching the situation, ready to step in and intervene at any time if necessary. Anne had been worried that the oldest Queen would be mad at her for upsetting her goddaughter, a ridiculous thought, as she knew that she had every right to be mjad, but the other woman gave her an encouraging smile and a nod of approval. 

“Cathy, dear? How about we finish this discussion in the morning? We can get everything squared away and move forward. You need to sleep, we all do. How does that sound?” Anne questioned softly, looking down at the girl in her arms. Cathy just hummed in response, too exhausted to make any sort of sensible reply. The second Queen maneuvered the smaller girl until she was back under the covers. Catherine was covered in a thin layer of sweat and tears, but that could wait until the morning. Anne was just about to walk away when the final Queen reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Can you please stay? Or someone, at least? I don’t want to be alone. Please.” Her voice was quiet, barely understandable, but all five Queens responded immediately.

“I can stay,” said Anne, Catalina, and Jane in complete unison. Kitty and Anna had both stood up and were about to make the same offer, but instead the five of them burst into exhausted laughter. Cathy looked confused, but content that she wouldn’t be alone, she nestled farther under the blankets and allowed herself to fall into a dreamless sleep. 

“Why don’t we all just stay?” Jane suggested. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not much in the mood to go all the way back downstairs. There are plenty of extra pillows and blankets in the closet at the end of the hall.” The others quickly agreed, all aware that something in the family dynamic had shifted that night. If they could overcome something as big as this, they were sure that they could survive anything the world threw their way. 

Soon Catalina was curled up on the bed, arm draped over her goddaughter. Sprawled out on the couch that was situated under the window were Kitty and Anne, Jane next to them on the floor, covered in a large blanket. Anna lay on the floor on the other side of the room, a pile of pillows separating her from the walkway in case someone woke up in the night. In the morning, there would be many serious conversations, but for now, they were all content to just sleep. After all, that's just what families did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware that most of the fics out there about the Elizabeth and Thomas issue have at least one cuddle puddle in them, obviously for good reason. I didn't mean to steal anyone else's idea, I just think it fits really well. And I'm a sucker for cuddle puddles. So... here we are. 
> 
> Anyway, the story is wrapping up. Only a chapter or two left. Thank you so much for sticking with me this far!


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning was one of the rare occurrences where Jane was not the first one to wake. It wasn't even Catalina or Anna. Instead, around seven, Kitty was the first to pry herself out of her cousin’s arms and quietly exit Cathy’s room. Shutting the door behind her, the girl quickly made her way to her room, changed, and snuck downstairs. It wasn’t like she was actively avoiding any interaction with the other Queens, she was just..... ok, yeah, she was avoiding them. It made Katherine feel incredibly guilty, sneaking around like this, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk about what had happened yesterday. When the fifth Queen had followed her cousin into her room after the ‘talk’, Kitty had held Anne while she cried. The two only spoke about it briefly before distracting themselves with stupid Youtube videos, then falling asleep on each other. And after the ordeal in the middle of the night, Kitty found herself even more confused and conflicted than before.

She didn’t want to be mad at Cathy. The woman had become like a big sister to her and the younger girl really, really wanted to be able to trust all of the other Queens in this house, but she couldn’t help it. Elizabeth’s situation reminded her all too much of her own when she was younger, and the fact that the sixth Queen had kept this secret even after learning about Kitty’s past made it difficult to trust the older woman. And if she felt this way, Anne must feel so, so much worse. Then how, Kitty wondered, was she able to talk to Cathy in such a motherly, caring way earlier? Not that she didn’t know that her cousin could be a caring, motherly individual. She had been on the receiving end of that many times. It was just... Kitty didn’t have the ability to be that forgiving. What gave her the right to be so upset when Anne had already gotten over it? 

Frustrated at her own thoughts, Kitty slammed the coffee pot she was holding back onto the counter, splashing the hot liquid everywhere. This, in turn, both broke her out of the spiral of negative thoughts and made her more angry. She was just about to decide whether to burst into tears, or to yell and scream, when a gentle hand was placed over her own.

“Hey now, Kit-Kat. Careful” Catalina lightly admonished. Katherine turned and smiled sheepishly at the other woman. “You’re up early”

“Yeah. Falling asleep at six in the afternoon will do that to a girl.” Kitty tried to keep her tone light and flippant, but the first Queen noticed. She always did.

“Yeah, I guess so. Although, we all did wake up in the middle of the night, so I’d say it balances out. Care to tell me what's really on your mind?” Catalina grabbed a towel off the rack and began cleaning the spilt coffee while Kitty poured herself a cup. The younger girl sighed and rubbed her temple, staving off an oncoming headache.

“What do you mean?” The oldest Queen just looked at her knowingly and raised her eyebrows, not gracing the foolish question with an answer. Kitty shrugged. It was worth a shot. “Fine. What do you think’s on my mind?” She didn’t mean to sound so harsh and cold, but Catalina didn’t flinch. Only sat down on the barstool by the counter.

“It's better if you talk about it. It’d be good for you.” A pause. “You know, it's ok to be upset about this whole situation, right? No one expects you to get over this quickly.” Damn Catalina and her inhuman ability to always know what to say. 

“Well Anne did. And this affects her more than it affects me. If she can hold Cathy while she cries, why can’t I bear to be in the same room as her?” Kitty quite nearly shouted. Then, realizing that they could probably hear her upstairs, she sobered quickly and plopped down, defeated, on the stool next to the older Queen. Catalina shook her head and smiled softly at Katherine.

“You shouldn’t compare your emotions to others, especially to try and justify them. This affects you two differently. And if you didn’t want to see Cathy, why did you sleep in there? Kit, no one would have been upset if you went back to your room. Cathy would have understood, we all would.” 

“I know, I almost did, but I was super tired, and Cathy was asleep anyway. Logically, I know that she didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but...” she trailed off. 

“But...?”

“I know what it's like to go and live with a woman who is supposed to protect you only to be abused by a man that you are supposed to trust. And, even worse, I know what it's like for that woman to ignore your pain. For now, at least, it's difficult for me to differentiate Cathy and my step-grandmother.” Kitty admitted this reluctantly, knowing that Catalina had already forgiven the other woman. Catalina, though, just nodded thoughtfully and pondered this information for a moment before responding.

“That’s completely understandable. Cathy most likely knows this as well, and doesn’t expect you to forgive her easily. You know, earlier, when she first told me, she was well aware that you were going to be one of the ones hit the hardest.”

“Then why didn’t she just tell me before!” Kitty’s voice rose in frustration. “I told everyone my dirty secrets, even when you guys had no right to them. This affected us all, personally, and we deserved to know.”

“She was afraid, you of all people would under...” Catalina tried to reason, but was cut off.

“Stop! Stop doing that. Stop defending her. How can you tell me that I deserve to be angry with her one minute and then tell me that she didn’t do anything wrong the next?” The smaller girl stood in anger and threw her hands in the air. The room was completely silent for a moment before Catalina spoke, voice small and apologetic.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I was out of line.” Kitty took a couple calming breaths, before looking back at the older woman. The sight of the first Queen curled in on herself, looking down ashamedly caught the girl off guard. This was an odd role reversal. 

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. You were just trying to protect your family.”

“Still, this isn’t about Cathy. Or, it is, I guess, but I should be focused on helping you.” Catalina relaxed and shrugged. “We don’t have to talk about this anymore if you don’t want to. Take as much time as you need, Ca..., er, we’ll all understand.” 

“Thanks. Once I get my thoughts all sorted, I will be able to talk to her about it, but it might be a little while.” The eldest Queen nodded in understanding and stood. 

“No rush. For now, do you want to go on a walk or something? Get out of the house?” Kitty agreed quickly and seamlessly bounced back into her usual, perky attitude. The two women were out of the house before anyone else even opened their eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, sorry.
> 
> Also, I lied. There will be at least two more chapters after this one, if not more. I was going to combine this chapter with the one after it, but I wanted to get this out of the way. So.... yeah.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair warning, I am not great at dialogue, so this is a little rough.

When Anne could no longer ignore the sunlight streaming in from the window, she reluctantly opened her eyes and stretched. This was the first decent night of sleep she had had in a long while, despite being curled up on a couch, and she was a little disappointed that she had been woken so early. Because of this, she was a little delirious at first. It took a moment to remember where she was, and another to stop herself from stepping on Jane, who was sprawled out directly under Anne’s foot. Pulling back immediately, the older Queen yelped softly and fell onto the couch yet again. A sharp snort alerted her to another presence in the room. 

“Nice save, there, kid.” Anna looked as if she had also just woken, but she was much more aware of her surroundings than Anne. The second Queen huffed.

“Who are you calling ‘kid’?”

“You, duh. There’s no one else in here for me to talk to, anyway” It was then that Anne noticed the lack of other Queens in the room. Obviously, she knew that Kitty was no longer laying on her, but the bed was also empty, covers pulled up nicely under the pillows. 

“Yeah, whatever. I’m not even close to the youngest.”

“Lies. Being older than Jane and Kitty isn’t that much of an accomplishment. They are also children.” Anna stood and stretched, smirking at the other woman, who was pouting dramatically.

“But I’m just a year younger than Cath, so... I’m basically in the top three.” 

“Would you two stop, please? I thought you already had this argument.” Jane groaned from the floor, turning over and rubbing at her eyes. 

“Sorry to wake you, Jane” Anna apologized.

“Meh. This is the longest I’ve slept in for a long time, I needed to get up anyway.” Sitting up and looking around, Jane’s expression turned to one of confusion. “Where are the Catherines?” 

“Dunno. Probably downstairs.” 

“Ah.” Jane nodded and stood, stretching. “Well I’m going to join them, then.” 

\---

All three Queens left soon after this and made their way to their respective bedrooms to get ready for the day. To no one's surprise, Jane was the first one downstairs and into the kitchen, Anna following close behind. What was surprising, though, was the absence of Catherines in the living room. 

“Jane? Are they down there?” Anne called from the top of the stairs, sensing something was off.

“No, I don’t... oh, here we go.” Jane zeroed in on the counter and strode over to it, picking up the paper that lay there. “Oh, Cathy went on a walk.” She skimmed the note. “Said she’ll be back by lunch. And she thinks the others went out as well. She left a note, see?” The third Queen turned to Anne and held out the note as the older girl barreled down the stairs, pulling her shirt on hastily. 

“Oh, good” she responded, taking the paper. “Had me worried there for a second.”

Anna was about to respond, probably with some snarky comment, when the front door opened. All three women jumped and turned towards the sound. Through the door walked Catalina and Kitty, laughing at something unknown. 

“Hey, ladies.” Anna greeted. The girls returned the greeting and took off their shoes, setting them by the door, 

“Where’s Cathy” questioned Kitty, glancing around the room.

“She went on a walk. Left a note before we woke up. I guess you didn’t run into her”

“Guess not.” responded Catalina, sitting down on the couch. “In that case, we need to talk.” Kitty responded immediately, seemingly understanding where this conversation was going, and sat down next to the older woman. The other three just looked at her in confusion.

“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable talking about Cathy when she’s not here.” Jane sounded doubtful. Catalina shook her head in agreement.

“Of course not. I just wanted to check in with you. Make sure you were all handling the situation alright. I know that this whole ‘thing’ revolves around Cathy, but we don’t need to talk about her to talk about this in general.” The first Queen explained. Nodding in understanding, Jane sat down across from the other girls in an armchair, Anna following close behind. Anne looked a little uncertain, but sat nevertheless.

“So... what? What do you want us to say?” Anna reclined into her chair, watching the others carefully. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I can handle this myself.” Anne crossed her arms and huffed.

“Guys, come one.” Kitty said, rolling her eyes. “We’ve had meetings like this before. Catalina and I talked, and we think that we all need to get this out in the open.”

“Well, yes, Kitty, but none of our meetings before have ever discussed topics quite like... this one.” Jane piped up from her chair thoughtfully. 

“Exactly.” Catalina sounded almost frustrated. “It would be really easy for something like this to fracture the still-fragile dynamic we have going on here. A rift from the inside is different from an attacking force from out.”

“You sound like the therapist Jane made me see.” Kitty scoffed, smiling a little.

“No, Catalina’s right.” The woman in question looked incredulously at Anne, who had just moments ago looked like she would rather be anywhere but there. “We can’t let this divide us. I mean, for just like, a split second, I was worried that you all were going to choose sides. I realized pretty quickly that that was ridiculous, but it was a possibility. We have only known each other, all six of us, for a month. It’s not a very secure relationship.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Kitty exclaimed, whipping her head to look at her cousin, eyebrows wrinkled in overdramatic disgust. “Now YOU sound like my therapist.” Catalina gave the girl a soft smile, thankful that she cut the tension in the room, as all five Queens chuckled good-naturedly. 

“Ok, I’m convinced.” said Jane, sitting up straighter. “But Catalina, you know that this means that you have to talk to us too, right?” 

“Yeah, I do.” The older woman sighed, sounding a tad reluctant. “I wasn’t too excited at the prospect at first, but Kitty said I had to.”

“Mhmm” The girl next to her smirked proudly. Catalina gave her a small smile.

“You guys are all ok with the fact that I’m, well, ok with all of this, right?” Anna looked around at the other woman, suddenly looking quite nervous. “Like, I know that this will take a while to get through as a group, but to me, I’ve dealt with it already. I just don’t want to make it worse by moving on if I shouldn’t.”

“No, yeah, of course. Kit and I didn’t really talk much about this yesterday, but we did recognize that we were going to be the most affected. We, at least I, don’t expect you guys to be mad at her on our behalf. That's not fair.” Anne explained, looking to her cousin for support. Kitty nodded

“Yeah, totally. And, on the flip side, I hope that you all will understand if it takes us a little while to figure this out.”

“I am really glad to hear you guys say that, because when Cathy first told me, I was terrified that this was going to be the end of it all. I’m a loyal person, especially to my family. That means that I will always be at Cathy’s side, not that I can’t see her faults. Plus, you are all my family too.” Catalina looked around fondly. “Did I reach my sharing quotient for the day, Jane?” Her cheeky, sarcastic tone startled the younger woman for only a moment before she smiled back and nodded.

“Yes, of course.” 

A peaceful silence fell over the room, remaining for perhaps ten minutes, although it was probably much shorter, as Jane waited. Allowing time for someone to speak up was important in these sessions, especially if it was about something as big as this. Sometimes a thought didn’t occur to someone until they had sat for a while. Sometimes someone had been waiting to say something, but didn’t want to interrupt. Usually, though, Jane or Catalina would speak again after a while.

“Right. So. We all agree that there are no sides to be chosen here, correct? We are all in this together, even... excuse me... especially Cath.” A small murmur of assent from all of the Queens. “And everyone will deal with this at their own pace?” Once more, the women nodded in agreement. “And if anyone needs to talk about it, you will come to one of the other Queens? I recommend talking it out with Cathy first, though you can make that judgment call.” Jane finished, folding her hands in front of her and studying her friends. The third Queen had adapted to the whole ‘mediator’ role very early on, for obvious reasons, and still continued to do the job with tact and care. 

“I believe this meeting can be adjourned.” Catalina stood, stretching. “If I’m correct, none of you have eaten breakfast. Come on, Queens.” The older woman playfully dragged Jane from her chair and herded the others to the kitchen. She stopped, though, as Kitty started to walk past her.

“Kit?”

“Yeah?” Katherine turned and looked at the first Queen, head tilted in curiosity. Catalina just stared at her for a moment, before...

“Thanks” she muttered as she enveloped the younger girl in a soft hug, nuzzling into her shoulder just a little. Kitty stood in shock for just a moment before returning the gesture, a little confused.

“You’re welcome? But I’m not exactly sure why.”

“For helping me.” Catalina shrugged, as if it was obvious. She pulled back, keeping her hands on the other Queen’s shoulders, looking at her. “Also. I suggest that you talk to Anne. About what you told me earlier, I mean. I think she will really understand.” With a squeeze, Catalina walked away, heading toward the cereal Anna had left on the counter. Kitty remained where she was, slighly dumfounded, but mostly contemplating the first Queen's suggestion. Talking to her cousin might be just what she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to stop predicting how many more chapters I have left, because I'm always wrong. I have no idea. 
> 
> This was supposed to be combined with the next chapter (which should be finished sooner than this one was, sorry), but it didn't transistion well, so... here we are.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, let me just say, this one HURTS. 
> 
> To me, at least. I cried.

After their late breakfast, only Anne and Kitty remained downstairs. Kitty suspected that Catalina was somehow behind all of the other Queens suddenly retreating to their bedrooms, but she didn’t have any proof. All of the sudden, they were just... gone. The youngest Queen knew why she had left them alone, she knew what she wanted them to do, but Kitty was hesitant. Telling her cousin that she wasn’t sure she could forgive Cathy like Anne seemingly had was sounding less and less enjoyable by the minute, especially as Anne was in the better mood than she had been for the past twenty-four hours. Still, it was necessary. Taking a breath and steeling herself, Kitty turned towards the other woman. Here goes nothing.

“Anne?”

“Hmm?” The woman in question didn’t look up from her phone, engrossed in whatever new game she had found.

“Can we maybe... talk?” The small tremble in her little cousin’s voice quickly shook Anne from her intent concentration. Her head shot up and she immediately set her phone down.

“Yeah, of course, Kit. What’s up?” The fifth Queen looked down at her hands nervously before speaking again.

“I know that you’ve forgiven Cathy, and I know that we aren’t supposed to be mad at each other for forgiving her or not, but I just wanted to make sure that you really aren’t mad at me for needing more time. This affects you more than it affects me, and I shouldn’t care as much as I do, but I can’t help it”

After a moment, Kitty managed to look up at her cousin. She must have misinterpreted the shocked look on Anne's face, because she began to hastily apologize.

“Sorry, I’m sorr...” 

“No, Kit-Kat, don’t be sorry. I’m not mad.” Anne sat up straighter and reached over to wrap Kitty in a hug, which the girl returned, somewhat confused. “I was just shocked, that’s all. Where on earth did you get the idea that I had forgiven her from?” Kitty sat back, even more confused.

“But... last night. You were, like, hugging her and stuff. I dunno, I just assumed that meant that you had forgiven her.” Now the girl looked sheepish. She felt bad that she had assumed anything about her cousin. Kitty looked back down at her hands, this time in embarrassment. “Sorry. I just don’t understand.”

“Don’t be, hun. I understand how it could have been confusing. I haven’t forgiven her, far from it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t comfort her when she’s hurting. I still care about her, a lot, and I know that she never meant to hurt me. I don’t quite understand it either. Like you said, its going to take time. I have a lot of emotions and I need to sort them out. Does that kind of make sense?” Anne reached over and lifted her cousin’s chin gently, trying to look her in the eyes. Kitty smiled softly and nodded. 

“Yeah” she chuckled humorlessly. “That’s actually a good description of my feelings.”

“I know that a lot of the time, people expect you and I to be the same, to react to things the same, because we are the beheaded cousins, but it's okay if we react to things differently sometimes. We went through different trauma, and in situations like these, where it just happens to cut close to home for us both, we can be there for each other while respecting our differences.” Anne pulled Kitty back into a hug, tucking the girls’ head under her chin and shifting so they could sit comfortably like this. 

“And one day, when I do forgive her, which I believe will be soon, if you still need some time, I’ll be here for you. Always.”

“Thanks. And I’ll always be here for you.” Kitty squeezed her cousin’s arm, nestling a little farther into her arms. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Actually, that might be nice. If you’re ok with it, of course.” The younger girl nodded, but looked up for confirmation. 

“Oh, of course, Kitty. Remember what Jane said a couple weeks ago? You shouldn’t feel bad talking about your own trauma because you are afraid that others will think you are lessening their trauma.” This was something the Queens had needed to address early on, although some of them had yet to fully understand. Somewhere in the corner of her mind, Anne wondered if that was why Cathy never shared anything about her past, other than the obvious reasons, of course.

“Right. I forget sometimes. Sor.., I mean, thanks.” Kitty cut herself off before she could apologize after a pointed look from her cousin. 

“Elizabeth reminds me of myself. Stuck in a situation that we couldn’t escape because the people that were supposed to protect us were the ones hurting us. Every time I look at Cath, I see everyone who just sat by and watched as men did horrible things to me. I know that she isn’t them, that she cares about me, and logically, she didn’t even do anything to me, but it’s really hard to use logic when my emotions are so strong. And I feel so bad, because it’s Cathy, you know? She’s amazing. And I love her, I do, but I just... I can’t.” The girl’s defeated tone broke Anne’s heart, and the older girl leaned down to press a kiss to Kitty’s head.

“I understand, love. Technically, she didn’t do anything to me either. But I realized that that doesn’t mean that I can’t be hurt. That’s important, Kit. Recognizing that you’re allowed to hurt is important. This is a process, and we will all work through it at different paces. Just be patient, with yourself and with others, and I have faith that it will all work out in the end.” 

“Thanks, Annie.” Katherine smiled up at her friend. “When did you get so smart?”

“Oh, that’s my secret, I'm not. I’m just really good at giving advice. Not so good at following it though, so I’m going to need you to hold me to this. Think you can do that?”

“Of course. That’s what family is for, right?” 

Anne smiled softly at her and maneuvered the taller girl so they were both facing the television and grabbed the remote off of the side table. “Do you want to finish the season of ‘Queer Eye’ with me? I know you missed a few episodes, but they aren’t really in any specific order, so it's okay.” Kitty nodded, getting comfortable against the cushions and leaning her head on her cousin’s shoulders. 

Near the end of the episode, in which the most recent ‘hero’ was crying, so, of course, Kitty and Anne were too, the older of the two turned and studied the other.

“Hey Katherine? You know I love you, right?” Kitty turned and looked up, head tilted like a curious child.

“Of course. I love you too, Anne.” 

\---

Meanwhile, across town, Catherine Parr was sitting on a park bench, head in her hands. She had woken that morning to a quiet, but crowded room, and had become overwhelmed very quickly. Sneaking downstairs, it was not difficult to notice that her godmother and Kitty were not at home, which made it easier to sneak out. Catalina, with her weird ‘mom’ powers, would have heard the door open from anywhere in the house. It was a miracle in and of itself that Jane hadn’t woken before Cathy was able to pull her jacket and shoes on, grab an energy bar from the cabinet, and slip out the front door. 

The sixth Queen had spent a lot of time walking the city, thinking about everything and anything. The stabbing guilt and overpowering anxiety that had nestled their way into her stomach the minute Jane had shown her the photo had not only remained overnight, but increased inordinately. The nightmare last night had really gotten to the woman, but not as much as waking to see Anne in her bed, holding her close and whispering comforts into her ear. That was... wrong. That wasn’t how this was supposed to work. Anne was supposed to hate her, they all were. Anne deserved to scream and cry, make Cathy pay for what she had done. It was the least she could do, because Catherine couldn’t fix anything she had done. And it wasn’t fair, and there was nothing she could do to make it better, but Anne still should have done something, anything.

But, no. Instead, she had woken up in the middle of the night to comfort Cathy. That was even worse than doing nothing. Cathy had hurt her enough, she shouldn’t have interrupted her sleep as well. That was the thing that irked Cathy the most. She had always tried to hide her issues, maintaining the position that her problems were miniscule compared to the other Queens. And now, they had all come to comfort *her*. They were the ones who needed comforting because of Cathy, from Cathy, if they allowed her, but instead, they were all there in her room, caring. They shouldn’t have done that.

But then Cathy scolded herself. Who was she to judge the other Queens? She was in no position to say what they should or shouldn’t do. She was the one who had destroyed their little family. And even if Jane and Anna said that they forgiven her, she didn’t deserve their forgiveness.

Maybe they were lying. Maybe it was a ploy. Henry had done that. He had told her that he had forgiven her. He had even fended off the guards that had come to arrest her. But it wasn’t true. That was very clear after he threatened her, point blank, that if she ever, ever, spoke to him like that, she would meet a swift and untimely end, via axeman. No, forgiveness was never something Cathy truly got. Not from her husband, surely not from Elizabeth, and definitely not from the Queens. She knew that they were not that foolish, to trust someone who had hurt a vulnerable child. They had all sworn that, if they could've, they would have hunted down and made the men who hurt Kitty pay, but they all hug Cathy? What made Elizabeth less deserving of their vengeance that Katherine?

The worst part was Catalina. This woman had been nothing but kind to Cathy, even when she was quite standoffish to the other Queens for the first couple days. It had been so nice, having someone that she always knew would be there for her. In her past life, people came and went quickly. If they didn’t die, she did. But not Catalina. The two had bonded quickly, often found in the other’s room, talking about a book or having a friendly religious debate. They comforted each other, sat together during movie nights, watched in exasperation as the others wrecked the kitchen. The moment the older woman had showed up at her door yesterday, she knew it was all over. Catalina would hate her. She should hate her. She should kick her out and tell her to never come back, to rot in hell. But she hadn’t. When Cathy had pathetically begged her to stay, Catalina stayed. When she cried, Catalina held her. And Cathy just couldn’t understand. How? 

It was this thought that caused Catherine to plop down onto the bench after hours of walking, exhausted. Which was ridiculous, because she had slept more in the past twelve hours than all of the past week. For a moment, she wondered if Jane would be proud. The younger woman was always telling her to sleep more. Then Cathy remembered. She didn’t deserve her praise. She didn’t deserve their forgiveness, their trust, their love. Jane would probably never lecture her about her sleep habits again. Anna would never drag her out to the park on sunny days, insisting that she needed the exercise. Catalina would never leave sandwiches conspicuously placed on her desk, obviously a reminder to eat. Anne would never rush into her room, clutching whatever new book she had discovered, excited to finally have something she could recommend to Cathy, not the other way around. And Kitty, oh Kitty. The poor girl may never look at her again, let alone sneak into her room at night, faking a nightmare in order to convince Cathy to lay down with her. 

Stop. No. She shouldn’t be thinking like that. Self-pity was useless, selfish. Whatever the other Queens did to punish her, she deserved. Maybe them pretending to forgive her was the punishment. Cathy knew that actions came with consequences. That was a lesson that was drilled into her early on. Her mother had wanted to ensure that she was able to survive the cruel world, so she taught her that she should always think about the consequences of her actions before she did them. Her mother was a smart woman. With a pang, Cathy suddenly remembered how much she missed her mother. As tears started to come to her eyes, she shook her head. One mental breakdown at a time, Cath. 

The worst part about this was that there was nothing she could do. She could get down on her knees and grovel for forgiveness, but she didn’t deserve it, so why would she pressure them into giving it. She could be obnoxiously helpful, doing extra favors and chores, but that would be too much, too loud, take up too much space. No, all she could do was be quiet, be small, stay out of their way and give them the time they wanted. They were being gracious enough to allow her to stay, she shouldn’t take advantage of their mercy. For a moment, Cathy considered just leaving and never coming back, but she had promised that she would return by noon, and she shouldn’t lie, not anymore. No, from now on, she would be perfect. Prove to them that she was sorry, that she was better. 

Checking her watch, Cathy noted that it was half past eleven. She had best be going, to get home in time before the other Queens would all be in the kitchen, eating. She would grab something small, undetectable to eat, maybe stock up on caffeine pills and energy bars so she wouldn’t have to come downstairs more than needed. Then she would go upstairs, lock her door, and stay out of the way. If they called her, she would come. If they asked a question, she would answer. If they demanded that she join them on an outing, she would obey. That would be easiest. She could survive that. Besides, she had survived four marriages from men who didn’t love her. Catherine Parr was strong. She was a survivor. She could hunker down, wait it out. Do what needed to be done so that they would not kick her out. It was a tad selfish, but having a home with people she had wronged was better than living alone on the streets. 

And so, Cathy quickly made her way to the Queen’s home. It had started to rain a while ago, but the woman hadn’t noticed until now. Wrapping her flimsy jacket tighter around her torso, the sixth Queen shivered a little, picking up the pace. As the house came into view, she sighed and took a moment to prepare herself.

Walk in, stock up, politely greet anyone who spoke to her, retreat to her room, and survive. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was all she had. Maybe, if she was lucky, the other Queens would forget about her and let her live out the rest of her life alone in her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should have mentioned this before, but I am an idiot American who knows nothing about British culture, which might quite honestly be blatanly obvious to some of you, but I apologize for any cultural/language/etc mistakes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mention of self-harm. Nothing graphic, just neglect of one's needs, etc.

One week. That was how long it took before Anna decided that enough was enough. She couldn’t possibly be the only person who noticed that something was wrong with Cathy, but apparently, she was the only one who was going to do anything about it. The sixth Queen was acting weird, which, Anna would admit, was to be expected. No one could blame her if she was a little off after facing her demons like that. It was only natural, to retreat into yourself after admitting something of that magnitude, especially when the only people in the world who would understand were the very ones who were hurt the most by her admission. 

Cathy hadn’t come out of her room on her own accord since she returned from her walk that day. She only came to meals if someone addressed her directly, knocking on her door and suggesting, somewhat assertively, that she join them. Even then, she would sit alone at the counter, shoveling down a few bites, before once again retreating and locking herself in her room. A couple days ago, Jane had politely requested that the sixth Queen join them on a walk to the park, and Cathy emerged immediately, looking as if she hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. The entire walk, she had trudged behind the rest of the Queens in silence, avoiding eye contact. Catalina had tried to strike up a conversation, but the smaller girl would only nod along, eyes trained on the ground.

The most obvious sign was how she acted around Kitty and Anne. If either of the two happened to be in the same room as Cathy, she acted almost reverently, hanging on every word they said, but not looking in their direction. Kitty noticed, of course she did, but, as she explained to Anna one night when the older Queen asked if she had noticed the other’s odd behavior, Katherine had asked Cathy to give her time, and if that's what the other girl needed as well, Kitty intended to give it to her. Faulty logic, in Anna’s opinion, but Kitty stood by it. Anne, on the other hand, was blissfully unaware of the new behavior, at least until Anna had brought it up. It worried the second Queen, but she told Anna that she wasn't sure she was the best person to do anything about it, which was reasonable.

After talking to the cousins, Anna decided it was time to bring out the 'big guns’, so to speak. First was Jane. The young woman had admitted that, yes, she noticed something was off with Cathy, and, yes, she had attempted to talk to her about it, but in the end, it was probably best to let the sixth Queen deal with the situation in whatever way was best for her instead of forcing her to face the other women when she obviously didn't want to. Catalina had said something very similar. The oldest Queen did not want to overstep her boundaries. She felt that her goddaughter could sort it out herself. The girl was infamous for shutting herself up in her room, something they had all noticed very early on, and usually, Cathy would emerge a day or two later, looking quite refreshed.

Not this time, though. Anna hasn't seen the final Queen in three whole days. The only proof that she was still in the house was at four in the morning, when Anna could hear her door open and soft footsteps descending to the kitchen. That was why the fourth Queen had woken at three this morning, quietly snuck to the main floor, and taken up a vantage point in the armchair by the television. There she waited, a mug of coffee in her hands so she wouldn't drift off. If Cathy stuck to her schedule, she should be arriving just... about....

“Hey Cath” The girl in question jumped, spinning around to locate the source of the noise.

“Holy, oh my word Anna. You scared me.” Cathy clutched at her chest, breathing heavily. The girl looked like a wreck, dark circles under her eyes and hair matted to her head. Anna set her coffee down and approached, strategically blocking the sixth Queen’s escape up the stairs. Cathy didn't seem to notice.

“Sorry.”

“What are you...? Why, um...?” The younger woman stuttered, fiddling with her fingers. Anna leaned casually against the wall, studying her friend.

“Why am I down here, at four in the morning?” Cathy nodded. “What a great question. Why don’t you tell me?” Anna tried not to sound too exasperated, but Catherine looked genuinely confused and it was frustrating. “Cathy, love” The fourth Queen tried to make her voice softer. “Why are you down here at four in the morning?” 

“I have to stock up on food.” she said, as if that explained everything. Anna’s suspicions were confirmed. Something was very, very wrong. The older woman reached out and grabbed Cathy’s elbow, leading her to the couch and sitting her down, taking a seat beside her. Cathy followed along without any resistance, either too tired or too confused to put up a fight.

“Catherine... Why do you have to stock up on food?” Anna’s voice was unnaturally soft, gentle. Cathy tilted her head in confusion.

“To eat?” The unspoken ‘duh’ was not lost on the older Queen.

“Cath, hun, that’s what meals are for. And if you want a snack, you can come down during the day. Four AM is for sleeping.” 

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“In your own home? Cathy, taking care of yourself is not intruding. You have as much right to the kitchen as anyone else. I’ve watched you, when Jane drags you down to mealtimes. You don’t eat nearly enough. It’s not healthy to survive on energy bars, you know this. I thought that Catalina had finally gotten that drilled into your brain. What happened?” A stupid question, really. Anne knew exactly what happened, but Cathy needed to say it herself. Instead, the girl just shrugged. At the motion, though. Cathy began to wobble and sway, looking quite dizzy and disoriented. Quickly, Anna grabbed her shoulders and leaned her back against the couch. When she reached up to push the hair out of the smaller girl’s eyes, though, she noticed something even worse. Her forehead was on fire, burning Anna’s hand as she brushed by. Anna jumped back, hissing slightly. This was bad.

“Catherine Parr, when was the last time you slept?” Anna didn’t want to sound angry, but that’s definitely how it came off, as Cathy flinched and curled in on herself, shrugging. Anna sighed and closed her eyes tightly, trying to figure out what to do. “Cathy, that’s not okay. You haven’t eaten, you haven’t slept, you haven’t showered, you haven’t even left your room in days.”

“Sorry.” Her voice was barely perceptible from where she had buried her head between her knees. Cathy was shaking slightly, and Anna realized it was probably from fear as well as sickness.

“Cathy, you beautiful girl, you have to take care of yourself. Why aren’t you, love? What’s going on in that big ol’ mind of yours?”

“I don’t need to, I’m fine. I don’t deserve, err, I mean, uhh” Cathy’s head shot up as she realized what she said. For a brief second, she hoped Anna hadn’t heard her, but that thought was dashed as the taller girl gasped and sat back. Cathy wondered if she was going to leave, if her words finally made the other Queen realize what Cathy had known all along, that she didn’t deserve their love, their care. Instead, Anna slipped an arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders and pulled her into a one-sided hug.

“Oh, Cathy.” Anna sounded so sad, so disappointed, that Cathy couldn’t help but begin to cry. She had refused to shed a tear for the past week, but now here she was, sobbing at something so stupid, so pathetic. Crying was pathetic. 

“Cathy, Cathy, Cathy. What are we ever going to do with you?” That was weird. Anna wasn’t mad anymore. Maybe she wasn’t ever mad in the first place. Now she sounded almost fond. Catherine looked up in confusion. 

“Everyone deserves to take care of themself. You deserve to take care of yourself, to eat, to sleep. I see now that this was something we should have reiterated with you a while ago, but it’s too late for that. I’m sorry we didn’t notice, that we didn’t see how much you were struggling. Sweetheart, you can’t punish yourself like this. I know that’s what you’re doing, don’t try and deny it.” Anna reached over to wipe away her tears before Cathy could swipe them away angrily. Cathy tensed at the touch before leaning into it, desperate for a bit of affection. Still, she didn’t quite understand Anna’s words. Of course she was punishing herself. Apparently the other Queens were too kind, too merciful to punish her, and someone had to do it, so Cathy took on that role herself. Why didn’t Anna understand that? 

“But... I have to.”

“According to who? Who said that you deserve to be punished, dearie?” Anna was being so kind, so soft, and it was throwing Cathy for a loop. She couldn’t think straight, couldn’t disguise her answers to sound less pitiful. So she told the truth.

“Catalina. Remember? She said anyone who hurts children deserves to rot in hell. That's what she said that one time Kitty talked about her past.” Cathy sounded so convinced, so accepting of her own fate, that Anna felt almost sick. She and the other five Queens had sat by and let Cathy think herself in circles for so long that the girl had reverted to self-harm. Anna wouldn’t fool herself. No, this was self-harm. Neglecting your needs in order to punish yourself. That was bad, unhealthy, a sign of underlying problems. Anna knew these things, she had listened during Jane’s rants about Kitty’s failing mental health, before the girl had gotten therapy. That was the thing about Anna. She didn’t fit in great with the other Queens all the time. She was ‘chiller’ than Anne and Kitty, but more chaotic than Catalina, Jane and Cathy. Usually, this distinction ended up with the fourth Queen on the outskirts, watching. Listening. Anna was observant. 

“Cathy, my love, no. That’s different.”

“No!” Anna jumped as Cathy yelled, pushing herself up and out of the other girl’s arms. “No, that’s not fair. You swore that if you could beat those men to a pulp, you would have. Justice for Kit, teach them a lesson. What makes Elizabeth any less deserving of your justice? She was just as young as Kitty, just as dependent on me as Kitty was on her grandmother. It’s not fair.” Cathy suddenly realized that she was shouting and shrunk back down, curled up against the arm of the couch, head buried in her hands. “Sorry.” Anna was frozen in shock for a moment. These were all thoughts she herself had had, when thinking about the whole situation. Eventually, though, she came to a very obvious conclusion. 

“Elizabeth did get her justice. I did my research, Thomas was executed. Not for that, specifically, but that’s enough justice for me. And yeah, I recognize that some of the men who hurt Kitty also got executed. I believe that they also got what they deserved. And those things I said, about hunting them down and beating them up, that was said in the heat of the moment, the other Queens too. Violence, justice, it doesn’t solve anything. ‘An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.’ and all that. And I don’t believe that you meant to hurt Elizabeth. This guilt you feel, maybe that is God’s punishment. But you don’t need to punish yourself. I forgive you, Jane forgives you, your godmother forgives you. And Anne and Kitty, they will too. But you need to forgive yourself. Please, Liebling. Everything will be so much easier when you forgive yourself. Do you understand?”

A hesitant nod. Anna smiled and relaxed her tone.

“Good. I promise, one day, this guilt you feel, here” she pointed to Cathy’s stomach. “It will fade. But part of the reason you feel so guilty, so ashamed, is because you know that this isn’t healthy. You’re guilty because you know that Catalina will be a little disappointed when she finds out, Jane too, but not because they’re mad at you, hun, I promise. It’s because they care about you. And they will probably be a little disappointed in themselves, like I am, because they didn’t see this sooner. But they love you, we all do. And we hate to see you hurting. Including Anne and Kitty. Imagine how guilty they will feel when they find out that you were doing this to yourself.” 

The thought made Cathy look up, think about it for a moment, before promptly bursting into tears again. 

“Oh, ok, love, shh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel worse. Don’t feel bad, just do something to fix it. I can’t bear to see you like this. Forgiving yourself will make you feel better, physically too. It’s part of the reason you feel so sick all the time.” Anna enveloped the sixth Queen in her arms and began to rock her back and forth. “Shh, you’re ok. It’s all going to be okay.”

A few minutes passed and Cathy’s cries quieted. Slowly, she uncurled herself and nestled into Anna’s chest, accepting the comfort. 

“How do you know so much? About the whole, you know, guilt thing.” Anna inhaled sharply and Cathy rushed to apologize, but the other Queen shushed her quickly.

“It’s ok, love. You just caught me off guard. It’s a valid question.” A pause. “I guess... because I dealt with a lot of the same thing. Both in this life and the last. It was a little different, because I didn’t really do anything. Or, I guess, it was actually pretty similar. Because we both feel bad because we didn’t do anything. I sat by and watched as Henry, a man who I claimed to be my friend, abused and executed a young, defenseless girl. I felt as though I should have protected her. Maybe, if I was prettier, Henry would have been happier with me. Maybe I should have contested the divorce so that Kitty would have never been married to him.” Anna stopped, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, before continuing. 

“The guilt was devastating for a long time. But, when you came along as his sixth wife, I realized something. I couldn’t have done anything, just as I couldn’t save you, another beautiful, bright young woman who was dragged into Henry’s BS. It took me a while to forgive myself. After Henry was dead, I tried to forget. And it almost worked. But then, I came back, and there was Kitty. Traumatized and scared. All those feelings came back up, and I had to work really hard to forgive myself again. Because it wasn’t fair that I had survived and no one else had.” she looked down at Cathy and smiled knowingly. “Does that sound familiar?” Cathy nodded, eyes bright in recognition. The sight made Anna’s heart swell. She had really missed that sparkle.

“It’s called ‘survivor’s guilt’. And it’s hard to deal with, especially because you can’t do anything about it. It’s not your fault that you’re the survivor, Cathy. Last week, when I said that you should come to me when stuff like this happened, that was why. We both know what it’s like to see everyone else like us suffer some tragic fate while we seemingly get away. But that’s not what happened. We suffered at Henry’s hands as well, and we deserve to recognize that trauma. Do you understand me Cathy?”

Catherine nodded, a little hesitantly.

“Out loud please, Cathy.” Anna chided lightly.

“I understand.”

“Good. And do you promise to stop beating yourself up over this? To forgive yourself.”

“I can promise that I’ll try.” Cathy sounded genuine, so Anna smiled and kissed her forehead.

“That’s all I can ask of you. Is there anything I can do to help you? Because I can give you this speech every day of your life if you need me to.” Cathy chuckled and shook her head.

“No, I think I just need time. I don’t really know what else I can do.”

“Actually, I have a few suggestions. This kind of guilt doesn’t just go away. You should talk to the Queens, all of them. In fact, would it be alright with you if I called a family meeting tomorrow, or later today I guess, to talk about this? No pressure, but it might help.” Anna ran her hands through Cathy’s hair, glad to feel that her skin felt cooler.

“Yeah, that might be nice actually.”

“I’ll do that then. And I have another suggestion, although it's a little more drastic, and you shouldn’t do it unless you are completely comfortable.” At Cathy’s encouraging look, Anna continued. “Do you remember in the beginning, when I made a fool of myself, offering to do favors for Kitty every five mintues?” The girl in her lap nodded. “Don’t do that. But, it might help assuage some of your guilt, doing favors. Ask Jane if she needs help doing laundry, offer to drive Anne to the store, stuff like that. But, you have to be careful. You can’t think of these things as a punishment, as a way to make the others forgive you. This has to be all for yourself. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah. I’ll think about it. Thanks.” Cathy’s voice sounded stronger that it had in a week, and Anna sighed in relief. 

“Awesome.” 

A comfortable silence fell over the two women. When Anna felt Cathy slowly drifting off in her arms, she decided she better move this along before they both fell asleep.

“So. It’s about...” she checked the time on the microwave “half past five. Geesh. You need to eat and shower before you sleep, so we should get going now before Jane wakes up. Sorry, love, we have to get up.” Cathy groaned good-naturedly, but lifted herself up and off the couch, only stumbling a little. She felt lighter than she had in days, and was so grateful to Anna for this talk. 

“Thanks, Anna. I really needed this.”

“My pleasure, love. Come on, we can just grab a quick snack. We will probably sleep through breakfast, but I plan on supervising your mealtimes from now on, so it's ok.” Anna led Cathy to a barstool and sat her down, digging through the fridge in a way that reminded the younger Queen of what Catalina had done just a week ago. The reminder that she still had a support system, people who really love her, made her tear up.

\---

Twenty minutes later, after a refreshing shower, Cathy and Anna were both laying down in Catherine’s bed. Anne had balked at the state of the room when they entered, and promised that a deep clean was in order one day soon, and Cathy had agreed quickly. For now, though, they just pushed the clothes and crumpled paper off of the bed and settled down. Cathy had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, and Anna hadn’t made it much longer, just managing to send out a mass text to the Queens, explaining that she and Cathy should not be disturbed until after eleven, and that they needed to hold a family meeting once lunch was over, before the fourth Queen joined the other in peaceful, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Mother's Day here in America (and maybe other places, I dunno), so I thought I would give you this chapter earlier than planned to honor that.


	12. Chapter 12

Cathy had to admit that she was pretty uncomfortable, sitting on the couch next to Anna, listening as the older woman explained to the other four Queens exactly what had occurred in the night. She was grateful that Anna had not asked Cathy to explain, as she wasn’t sure that she would have been able to stand saying any of that again. Instead, Anna had volunteered, sitting the others down and announcing that they had a problem. Now, they were all watching the fourth Queen intently, hanging on every word. Cathy couldn’t bring herself to look up, so she didn’t know how they were reacting, but she dearly hoped they weren’t mad.

“....and I was so worried about her that I woke up at three this morning, to try and catch her when she came downstairs. I scared the living daylights out of her, when I spoke up from the chair.” Anna chuckled, noticed her failed attempt to lighten the mood, and quickly continued.

“And, basically, she told me that she was getting up at four in the morning to get food, energy bars and caffeine pills, from what I noticed. She said it so casually, like it was normal, so I asked her why on Earth she didn’t just eat at mealtimes, and she told me that she didn’t want to intrude, which was of course ridiculous.” Cathy noted that Anna was a very vivid story-teller, but quite an accurate one. Hearing her own words repeated back at her, especially after a good night’s sleep, it was easy to see how foolish she had been. She hoped the other Queens wouldn’t judge her too harshly for it.

“...she was so hot, like burning up in my arms. Looking back, I should have gotten a damp flannel or something, sorry Jane, but I was so panicked. And she hadn’t slept in days. And I know that I am rambling, so I’ll get to the point, but you guys, it was awful.” Cathy really wished that Anna had allowed her to stay in the other room while she explained, because she really didn’t want to hear this, but the fourth Queen had refused, saying it would be good for her or something like that. Cathy took a chance and peaked up at the other women, trying to read their expressions. Jane looked understanding and sympathetic, as usual, but also scared. Cathy wasn’t quite sure why she was scared, that didn’t make any sense. Catalina was obviously trying to keep a neutral expression, but failing miserably. She was clutching the arms of her chair tightly, knuckles white and shaking. Uh oh. Angry Catalina was never a good thing. Before she could look over at Anne and Kitty, who were both curled up in a chair together, though, Anna began speaking again.

“She finally admitted to me that the reason she wasn’t taking care of herself was because she didn’t deserve to, that she was punishing herself, like we should have punished her.” A shocked silence. Cathy could feel all five of them looking at her, their gazes piercing into the top of her head, but she refused to look up, silently begging Anna to continue before she started to cry.

“Oh, Cathy, mija...”

“Catherine...” 

Cathy cut them both off, whoever was speaking. She wasn’t sure.

“Please, Anna” her voice sounded so weak “Please continue”

“Ok, hun.” Anna pulled Cathy tight against her shoulder and started to run a hand through her hair, before beginning once more. “Really long story a little bit shorter, she was comparing Elizabeth to Kitty, which..” A sympathetic look at the fifth Queen “is a completely valid thing to do, but Cathy pointed out that we had all sworn revenge against the men in her story, so it was only fair that Elizabeth got the same justice that we wanted to give our Kit.”

“That’s absolutely ridiculous.” Catalina’s voice was incredulous. “What they did to Katherine and what Cathy did to Elizabeth were two completely separate things.”

“Well, I knew that, and you knew that, but apparently Cathy didn’t. Plus she was already feeling guilty for keeping the secret, and she felt that she didn’t deserve our forgiveness, so she was hurting herself to impart some flawed sense of justice on herself.”

“That’s considered self-harm, did you know that?” Kitty spoke for the first time in a while. “That’s what my therapist said, Jane too. Depriving yourself of your basic needs like food and rest.”

“That’s what I said, and I think she understands. Though, I did tell her that I will be watching her eat meals for the foreseeable future, just to make sure. And she’s getting at least five hours of sleep every night, right Cathy?” Catherine nodded from her place against Anna’s shoulder. The older woman smiled. “Right. So, anyway, we talked a lot about guilt and survivor’s guilt and stuff, which I understand because I outlived all of you, and forgiving yourself when you mess up. So... we’re going to be working on that. And I told you all of this for a couple reasons. One, so you know, so that we can make a better effort to take care of Cath, and each other. Two, so that it is clear exactly how sorry she is, because she’s been trying to prove it to us for a week, through her own flawed methods, and we really failed at picking up on those cues. And, most importantly, three, so that everyone has an idea what happened so that if you want to talk to Cath about it, we are all on the same page. And... uh, yeah, that’s pretty much it. I now offer up Catherine Parr to be passed around for hugs, scoldings, and whatever else you see fit.”

This quip made even Cathy laugh a little, as she reluctantly sat up straighter and looked expectantly at the other Queens. To no one’s surprise, Catalina stood first. Kneeling down in front of her goddaughter, Cathy could now see the tear tracks that were lining the older woman’s face.

“I have half a mind to stand here and lecture you about how incredibly dangerous that was until my voice is hoarse, but I think you’ve learned your lesson. Yeah?” Cathy nodded jerkily, holding back a sob. She hated it when Catalina was mad at her. “Come here, my love.” The oldest Queen pulled her goddaughter into her arms, allowing the smaller girl to bury her head in her shoulder. She rubbed her hand up and down her back, rocking her slightly. “Let it out, it’s ok.” Permission was all she needed, apparently, because Cathy let one tear escape, and then another, and then she couldn’t stop crying. Behind Catalina, Jane stood and ushered the other Queens into the other room, allowing the two women some privacy.

“I’m so sorry, Catty, I’m so..” her voice broke, body shaking as the sobs took over. Catalina held the smaller girl tighter.

“Oh, my dear, it’s ok. You’re going to be ok. I’m not mad, hun, not at you. I’m just so, so worried. I hate to see you hurting yourself like this.”

“I’m sorry” Cathy hiccuped. Catalina just shook her head.

“No, don’t be sorry. No more apologies. I love you so, so much, my dear girl. Please, just, let me help. What can I do?” 

“No, you don’t have...” Catalina interrupted.

“Nuh-uh. I know, but I want to. Please, Catherine.”

“Could... could I maybe...” Catalina pulled Cathy back, tilting her head in question, a gesture to continue. “Would you mind if I slept in your room tonight? Please.” 

“Oh, of course.” The older woman pulled her goddaughter back into the hug, finally sliding her off the couch so they were both sitting on the floor. Cathy buried her head in Catalina’s chest and sniffled, basking in the warmth of the other woman’s arms.

Meanwhile...

“You did good, Anna.” Jane was leaning against the wall, watching as the older Queen anxiously paced around the room. Kitty and Anne were sitting against the wall, whispering quietly to each other.

“Yeah?” Anna stopped her movements to look at Jane. The third Queen nodded.

“Yeah. You really helped Cathy, I could tell. Really cemented your spot as resident big sister.” Anna chuckled quietly, sighing in relief.

“Good, good, I’m glad you think so. I was just so worried, Jane.”

“I know, me too. I just didn’t know what to do.” Anna smiled gratefully at the other woman, finally ceasing her pacing in order to perch on the table. Jane shifted awkwardly and groaned. She really needed to talk to Cathy before she went crazy with worry,

“Catalina, you’re holding up the line. I know she’s your goddaughter and all, but Cathy isn’t going anywhere. Come on, girl.” Anna yelled, smiling softly at Jane. The younger woman nodded her thanks. Anna really was incredibly observant

“Alright love, I’ll see you later.” Catalina gently unwrapped herself from Cathy and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, gently wiping away some of the tears. Before the woman could fully pull herself away, a new presence made itself known behind her, sitting down to take Catalina’s place. The oldest Queen knew it was Jane without even having to look, and trusted her to take good care of Cathy, so she slipped away, making her way upstairs.

“You scared me so bad, Cathy-bear.” Jane shifted so that she was sitting against the couch next to Cathy. The smaller girl remained curled up, but looked a lot more relaxed than she had before. Still, she didn’t quite make eye-contact.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You were hurting and I didn’t see it. I’m the one who should be sorry.” Before Cathy could protest, Jane wrapped an arm around her torso, pulling her in for a slightly awkward hug. “But it’s all okay now, yeah? Now, we move forward.”

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Jane sighed and adjusted them so that Cathy was facing her. 

“Can you do me a favor, love?” Cathy perked up instantly, but still looked at the floor. “Can you look at me? Please? I just need to see that you’re still there.”

The smaller girl looked up now, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. Jane breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw a familiar glint in the sixth Queen’s eyes. 

“There’s a difference between you being here physically and you being here- in here” Jane pointed to Cathy’s head, tapping her hair slightly, before smoothing it down. “And I just needed to know, for my own sake, that we hadn’t lost you.” Cathy nodded in understanding and remained where she was, looking into the younger Queen’s eyes. Her expression reminded Jane of a curious child, readjusting to a world that she had been away from for far too long. 

“I’m back” Cathy reassured. Jane nodded, smiling.

“Yeah. Yeah, you sure are.” A few more moments passed before Cathy finally broke eye-contact. 

“I heard something about there being a line, so you probably should get moving. I’ll come talk to you later, though, if you want.”

“I would love that, Cath.” Jane also placed a soft kiss on Cathy’s head before standing and going to the door, signaling that she was done. It only felt a little weird, passing the girl around like this, but no one said anything. Perhaps it was for the best.

Cathy felt her stomach begin to churn as she realized who was left that she needed to talk to. She hoped they wouldn’t be mad. Not that they didn’t have every right to be mad. Before these thoughts could spiral any farther, though, small arms quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. Cathy gasped and tensed, before realizing that this probably meant that they weren’t mad. That’s good.

“Cathy, oh my god.” Anne breathed in the scent of the smaller girl, squeezing her tightly. “Don’t you ever, ever do that again. When I saw the text from Anna this morning, Jane had to literally hold me back so I wouldn’t wake you and demand answers. I was so worried, love. I can’t believe... I’m so sorry I made you feel this way.” 

So much for being done crying, Cathy thought, as she felt herself choking up again. “I’m sorry too, Anne. I was just... I don’t even know.” 

“It’s ok, I understand.” Anne released her grip on her friend in order to look into her eyes. “Cathy, I forgive you.” 

Something about the look in Anne’s eyes revealed that she wasn’t just talking about her behavior the past week. It took Cathy a moment to understand her meaning, but once she did, she released a long, shaky breath that quickly dissolved into a sob of relief. Anne pulled her back against her body.

“And it is NOT because you hurt yourself. That’s not why I forgive you, so don’t ever think that. Do you understand?” Cathy nodded shakily against her chest and Anne sighed. “Good. Because that’s not how this works.”

“Thank you” Cathy sniffled, trying to sound as genuine as possible while fighting back tears.

“Of course, love.” 

Many minutes of blissful silence passed before Cathy felt another presence join them on the floor, sitting against the couch like Jane had.

“My turn.” Kitty made grabby hands toward the girl in Anne’s lap and the older Queen chuckled, shifting Cathy so she was sitting in between the two cousins. 

“Hey, Kit.” Cathy tried to sound casual, but the tremble in her voice gave her away. Kitty just smiled and pulled her in for a hug.

“Hey Cathy.” Kitty kept her tone light, trying to make Cathy feel as comfortable as possible. The tension between the two women was obvious, and it was then they both realized that neither of them had exchanged more than a few words since Mother’s Day. 

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

“It’s okay. We’ll get through it.” Kitty sounded so sincere, so sure that everything would eventually be back to normal, that Cathy couldn’t help but believe her. 

“Yeah”

“Besides, it’s nice to not be the one needing comforting. I like taking care of other people. And I know how this...” she gestured vaguely to Cathy “feels. It’s no fun. And you were there for me when I went through it, so...” Kitty trailed off.

“I really appreciate it.”

“Just... give me a little more time. It’s not you, I swear, I just need to work some things out in my brain. You know how I am- avoiding thinking about my problems until the last possible moment. But, once I can forgive and forget, you’ll be the first to know. 'Kay?”

“ 'Kay” Cathy snuggled closer to Kitty, then pulled on Anne’s arm, inviting her to join.

“Ooh! I get to experience the infamous ‘Cathy cuddles’?! I thought this was an honor only reserved for Catalina.” 

Cathy attempted to stick her tongue out at Anne, but it was quite impossible from her position, with her face buried in Kitty's chest. The youngest Queen swatted her cousin playfully, which satisfied Cathy, so she settled back down. 

Jane and Anna watched the scene fondly from the doorway.

“So..” Jane whispered as to not disturb the three on the floor. “I think we're going to be ok.”

“Yeah...” Anna sighed, both in relief and deep in thought. 

“Yeah. We're going to be more than ok.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking about writing a short epilogue.
> 
> What do y'all think?


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, I swear, at one point, this was going to be a one-shot. I never imagined it would be THIRTEEN chapters??!! 
> 
> Seriously, thank you guys so much for your support&comments. You guys had some great ideas and motivation, and I am so grateful!

The day started out like any other.

“Anne Boleyn, you get your butt down here!” 

Okay, maybe not quite like any other. Besides, it was a very special day. 

“Can you please not yell, Jane. It was your idea to wake us all up at eight in the morning, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Anne is taking forever” Cathy groaned from her spot, curled up under a blanket in the armchair. Jane sighed.

“It really cannot be that hard to wake up this early.” 

“Oh, it is when Anne, Kitty, and Cathy didn’t go to bed until two in the morning.” Kitty shot Catalina a dirty look.

“Tattletale” Catalina just shrugged smugly.

“Kitty, what were you guys doing up so late?” Jane admonished. Kitty had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Binging ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies. Cathy said it was, and I quote, ‘critical to our cultural education in the modern era’. I was hooked the moment the elf guy showed up. So... two am.” Cathy nodded along with the younger Queen’s explanation. 

“I regret nothing. They needed to see it.”

“Cathy, what happened to getting at least five hours of sleep each night?” Catalina questioned knowingly from the couch.

“Well, I would have, if someone hadn’t demanded we were all awake so early.” The sixth Queen glared goodnaturedly at Jane. The younger woman just shook her head.

“Then you should have just... whatever. It’s too late now anyway.”

“Hey, where’s Anna?” Kitty asked, looking around.

“I think she went to go get Anne.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Geez, keep your shirt on.” Anne’s voice echoed down from the stairs. Soon after, Anna came barrelling down the stairs and slid around the corner smoothly, plopping onto the couch, slightly out of breath. The other four looked at her expectantly.

“She’s coming.” The fourth Queen reported dutifully. Catalina snorted.

“Yeah, we heard.”

Right on cue, Anne skipped down the stairs and into the living room. 

“You’re late” Jane deadpanned. Anne’s eyes lit up as she hopped over the couch and perched on top of it, leaning against the wall.

“A wizard-” The second Queen started, before Cathy interrupted.

“No”

“A wizard is never late-”

“NO” This time it was both Cathy and Catalina, the elder having quickly caught on.

“ ‘Nor is he early.”

“Please...” Cathy begged

“Just let her finish. It’ll be over faster that way.”

“He arrives precisely when he means to.” Anne finished smugly. Kitty giggled as Cathy groaned and ran a hand over her face dramatically

“You did this, Cathy. She’s going to say that every single time now.” Anna through her hands up in mock exasperation.

“Ughhh I know.” 

“I feel like you should have seen this coming.”

Jane watched the discussion fondly, glad to hear the teasing tone that played in each of their voices. Their playful arguments were much more enjoyable to witness than their genuine ones, obviously. Still, she had called them all here this morning for a reason.

“Ladies, please. We might as well make the most of waking up this early and actually get to the point.” Despite her admonishment, she couldn’t help but laugh as all five jolted a little and fell silent, looking at the third Queen.

“Sorry”

“Right, sorry”

“Why are we here again?”

“Thank you.” Jane smiled. “So, I thought it would be nice, since our earlier Mother’s Day celebration didn't go as planned-” 

Cathy opened her mouth.

“Catherine Parr, I swear, that better not be an apology I’m about to hear”

The sixth Queen paused, thought for a moment, and then shut her mouth. 

“That’s what I thought” 

Catalina grinned at her goddaughter, who just slumped back in her chair and huffed.

“Anyway... it's not Mother’s Day, but it's not too late to celebrate. And I know that technically Kitty and Anna didn't have children, but they still were mothers to our kids, at least for a little while. What do you guys think?”

“I love it.” Anne sat up straighter. The rest of the Queens nodded along in agreement..

“What did you have in mind?”

\---

Some time later, the six women were all sitting around the table, having just finished an hour long game of Monopoly.

“Look, it's not my fault that I’m good at board games.” Anna whined from the head of the table, trying to pacify Anne and Kitty, who were both sending her death a death glare.

“Please, ladies, you have this argument every time.” Jane groaned as she tried to sort the money back into the box.

“Because she wins every time!” Anne exclaimed.

“Well, obviously, but I feel like you should be expecting it by now” Cathy tried to reason, to no avail of course. 

“Guys, I am begging you. This was supposed to be bonding, a nice break, a celebration. Not another reason for you to bicker.” Catalina finished putting the pieces back away and put the lid on the box, adding it to the pile of games they had already played. Anna had won all but Clue, which Cathy was incredibly good at, much to Anna’s dismay and Anne’s relief.

“We shouldn't have played board games then.”

“She has a point, Catty.”

“Fine, whatever. No more then. Anyone know any good movies about mothers?”

\---

“That was not about mothers at all” Anne pointed out as the credits rolled. 

“It kind of was. I mean, the plot revolved around her mom being turned into a bear and Merida saving her, so...” Kitty tried to argue.

“I guess, and it was a great movie, but I don't think it was what we were really looking for.” Jane adjusted her hold on Kitty in order to turn and look at Cathy, who was curled up on the other side of the couch.

“Don't look at me! You all asked for a movie about mums, so I looked it up and Google said ‘Brave’. That's not my fault.”

“It's fine, Cath. It was a sweet movie. I liked it. Plus, we didn't argue for a couple hours. That's a win in my book.” Catalina reasoned. The other girls sighed, but agreed nonetheless. They had had a lot of fun making lunch before they watched the movie, and the time together was nice.

\---

In true Queen fashion, their conversation quickly turned from light banter to more serious discussion topics. The past week and a half had been packed with emotional moments, and much of the tension and exhaustion was still leaving its mark on the girls. The cousins had been making a point to spend more time with Cathy the past few days, and the sixth Queen was much more present in the household than before Mother’s Day, as if she was making up for something.

It wasn’t that they were not moving on, it was just that something seemed to be holding them all back. That was why Jane had called this celebration in the first place. It bookended this chapter in their new lives nicely, but so far, it wasn’t working quite as she had hoped. They were all having a great deal of fun, laughing and joking, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

This is why Jane sneakily steered the conversation towards where she believed the Queens needed to go. They were all already lounging around the living room, and it was much easier to do a smooth transition into this than making it a huge formal affair. Still, there wasn’t much she could say except-

“So, I believe we are due for a group sharing session.”

Jane was quite relieved when none of them immediately rejected the idea. The shock on their faces was obvious, but no one looked fully against the proposition. In fact, all five seemed like they were seriously considering it.

“Wait, you guys are actually okay with this?”

“I mean... sure.” Anne shrugged.

“It is about time.” Catalina agreed. Jane was slightly shocked, but decided to just take the win.

“Alright then. Does anyone have anything they want to say to start us off?”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure someone is obligated to be the first to speak.” Anna spoke up from her chair, smiling pointedly at Cathy, who rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“Oh, yes that’s right.” Jane glanced at the girl. “You’re up, Cath.”

“Guys, come on. I’m fine, I don’t even know what I would talk about.”

“Oh, mija, I could think of a few things.” Catalina was only mostly joking, but Anna shot her a glare anyway.

“Catalina” The fourth Queen playfully hissed. The elder woman only shrugged.

“What about Mae, Cathy?” Kitty suggested. Cathy considered it for a moment before nodding.

“Yeah, I can tell you about her. Though, unfortunately, I don’t know much.”

\---

After the sixth Queen spoke (and cried) about her daughter, Catalina did the same. At one point Cathy moved seats so she could comfort her godmother as she revealed all the horrible things she had discovered about her Mary. Once she was finished, Anne began to speak fondly of her faint memories of Elizabeth, and Jane, of Edward. There was a lot of laughter as Anne recounted the mischief her daughter would get into, and tears as Jane spoke of how she thought of her son every day.

Soon, the conversation took a turn as Anna, Kitty, and Cathy chipped in with stories about the former Queen’s children. Anna spoke of her knowledge of their reigns, and Kitty noted that they had all been eerily similar in age to her, so they had been more like friends than mother and children. Cathy, who seemed to know them best, told some stories she had shared before, as well as some new ones that she had forgotten until now, or neglected to mention, for obvious reasons. The slight tension in the air when the sixth Queen spoke of Elizabeth was noticeable, but every time her voice faltered, Anne would just give her a reassuring smile and the conversation would continue.

They ended up talking well into the night, Jane fetching and distributing snacks for dinner, before returning to the conversation. It wasn’t all teary and sentimental. In fact, most of it had returned to friendly banter and jokes. At some point, Anne had brought back out the photo of Elizabeth that had started it all, and Kitty and Anna agreed that there were some uncanny similarities, despite Anne’s drastically different physical appearance.

“It just looks like her!”

“That’s what I said!”

Around ten, the conversation began to slow. Kitty was curled up with her head in Jane’s lap and struggling to keep her eyes open. Cathy steadily refused that she was tired, but the majority of her body weight was supported by Catalina, who eventually decided that enough was enough and pulled the smaller girl onto her lap as well, with little protest from her goddaughter. Anne was also becoming quite tired, although one glance from Anna told her that she was not going to receive the same treatment. The fourth Queen wasn’t the most overtly physical person, at least when it came to comfort, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. 

Only after Jane felt Kitty’s breathing slow and even out, a clear sign that she had finally given into her exhaustion, did she suggest that everyone retire to their rooms. The third Queen watched as Anne and Anna quietly retreated upstairs, and Catalina gently shook her goddaughter awake, only to give in and pick her up with a sigh when Cathy whined softly and refused to stand. After a soft ‘goodnight’ from the first Queen, which Jane returned politely, she was left alone with Kitty. 

It was times like these when Jane was reminded how much this girl was like a daughter to her. And that obviously wasn’t the only mother-daughter dynamic within the Queens. All of the women in the home were mothers in their own right, and all of them had daughters, in one way or another. And Jane had Edward, of course. Mothers, daughters, and Edward. The third Queen laughed softly at her own unspoken joke.

Jane carefully slid Kitty off of her lap, only to stand, turn around, and gently lift her into her arms. This wasn’t the first time she had carried the sleeping girl up the stairs, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Like every time beforehand, she brought the fifth Queen into her room and tucked her in, settling down on the bed as well. Her last coherent thought before she fell asleep was the strange, but comforting feeling that Mother’s Day was going to become one of the most important holidays in the Queen household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I promise that I wrote this before I saw that Tumblr post about the Queens playing Monopoly thats been going around. I'm not stealing their idea. Just thought I should make that clear. It was quite a funny coincidence though
> 
> 2) How many pop culture references can I fit in one chapter? Turns out, a lot (aka 2). I'm sorry if you don't understand them, I'm just a nerd.
> 
> 3) I know I said it at the beginning, but I'll say it again. Y'all are the best. This is by far the longest fic I've ever written, and it's all thanks to your support.
> 
> 4) I am hoping to start another fic in this series set between this and "Free to Take..." sometime soon, so keep a look out for that! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!!!!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you want to see any dynamics between Queens. I have a list I am working on, but I could always use more. 
> 
> As always, I appreciate comments and critiques!


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